Behind the Veil
by Angelic Candy
Summary: Voldemort rises to his full power and takes over.With only a few friends beside him,Harry fights to stop the chaos Voldemort has created while trying not to get captured.In doing so,he finds out just what the prophecy meant. Ch 3!
1. Prologue

**Behind the Veil**

**_Warning:_**It starts off fairly dark but it won't get too much darker. There will be violence and a tad bit of language. Mostly it's dark because of Voldemort and his insanity. :-) And of course there are _Order of the Phoenix_ spoilers!

**Prologue:**

It was a dark February night when the sky was cloudless and the wind drifted over the wizard world in hushed whispers, as if hiding a secret. The world was in turmoil because the news of Lord Voldemort's return had reached the ears of everyone in Europe. However, there was still no sight of him, no attacks; no sign of anything sinister. Not even his faithful Death Eaters that escaped Azkaban had been spotted at all. It gave everyone an unnerving sense of insecurity, but no one more than the Dark Lord's long time victim and arch rival: Harry Potter.

Hogwarts was still thriving, even during the middle of his sixth year, but even though it was continuing on as if nothing had changed, the students had shown their unhappiness in several different ways. Whether or not Draco actually had admitted his father worked for the Dark Lord, was no matter, because he consistently blamed Harry for their locked-up and chaotic world as if he being born had something to do with it. In truth, that was partially correct, but no one would ever admit it aloud.

Frequent visits from the Ministry had been forced upon Albus Dumbledore for the safety of the students to make sure everything was in proper order. Behind the Ministry's back, Dumbledore was having consistent meetings with the Order to try and summon an army, in case the Ministry fell. His problem was that the Minister, Cornelius Fudge, was growing very suspicious and often fell in his way. Though Dumbledore stood strong and never showed any amount of suspicion, he was growing tiresome and feared they wouldn't have an army when the worst came.

To Harry's misery, Sirius Black was still at large and the Ministry was focusing more on capturing him, though they didn't realize he was in no one's reach. To say he was dead would not exactly be right, for no one new what secrets were hidden behind the veil, and no one dared to find out. Harry had wanted so badly to jump inside after his Godfather, but alas he knew that wouldn't help anyone, not even Sirius. So now he moped around the school, followed by his best friends who tried to cheer him up, but they too had their hopes crushed. The world was becoming darker, even though the Dark Lord didn't show his face yet. It was as if the atmosphere was telling what was to come, the darkness that would swallow them and produce their worst fears.

The year had been going downhill ever-so-slowly for the students at Hogwarts, especially for Harry, Ron and Hermione who stuck closely together. Everyone wanted to put blame on someone else for their misery. At night all the doors had to be locked with securely perfected charms. Sleep was a dream that everyone wanted for themselves, but none could achieve it. The Ministry had canceled the Daily Prophet in case the Dark Lord or any of his followers picked up on it and read in between the lines. It didn't matter anyway; Rita Skeeter had been missing for some time having disappeared with no trace. Hermione partially blamed herself saying she should've kept her bottled up in the jar, but she knew she was only fooling herself. Every day was the same, the fear and the hatred of being miserable and locked up in their own world and country unable to speak freely for fear unintended ears would catch wind. Dumbledore even had no control over what was going on, and the heights the Ministry was taking, which was why he was continually summoning the Order in hopes of being able to create an army which would at least draw Voldemort out in the open. But so far his army was too small to even be called an army. Many more had joined the Order and even the private schools: Beauxbatons and Durmstrang helped as much as they could, but Dumbledore feared it wouldn't be enough.

Cornelius Fudge, Minister of the wizard world was damning them all with his cowardice. He would bark orders for people to go and do something then lock himself in his office in case the end of the world came. And every time it didn't come he'd come out and bark more orders. Families were disappearing without a trace, either from fear or maybe perhaps they decided to move to the muggle world, feeling it was safer. That was how horrible the predicament was for the wizard world. Mr. Weasley had tried many times to try talking some sense into him, but it was no use…Fudge was too worried about his own life to consider the lives of every other person on Earth. There was debate on whether or not Fudge should be demoted from his position to give rise to another Minister. Although it was discussed in secret outside of Ministry walls it was never put into action. There was always something that prevented it, whether it be another attack on a village, or another missing person being reported, the Ministry members and the Order members were always busy.

Behind all the fear and misery, building far from the reaches of the Ministry and Hogwarts, a force was growing stronger. Stores and shops were closed, so items were free for the taking. No one dared to go out though...no one except those working for the source of the fear. While everyone was waiting for the apocalypse, or some kind of miracle, destruction was being harbored in the least likely of places, out of the scrutiny of the Order or the Ministry. The wind was howling so loud voices were drowned out, even if people wanted to talk. What no one noticed was that the wind was harsh everywhere except in one small area, hidden by strong barricades...the hideout of Lord Voldemort.

The Ministry was reaching its limits, and all the members there knew it. Minister Fudge had not come out of his office that whole day. Was it a sign? Would anyone even see it? As usual, Malfalda Hopkirk was walking toward his office door to tell him to come out and take care of business. The world was falling apart—being sucked into chaos as it had fifteen years prior. Too many people were dying and too many families were lost and scared with no place to go. People were so scared and they were turning to the Ministry, sometimes coming to the door and banging on it. The Ministry had been discussing recently on bringing Harry Potter out in the open to make a speech in Hogsmeade to calm everyone down. The only problem was that it had to be run by the Minister.

Minister Fudge didn't want anything to do with Potter. He was convinced that he had known about the Dark Lord's plans all along and that he was leading the darkness to them. The last time he had visited Hogwarts it was right after Christmas. He had yelled at Harry in front of the Ministry and Order members when he had been talking about a recent dream he had, which he claimed was like a vision. Malfalda remembered that the boy had said something about the Dark Lord's army growing and that he was going to attack the Ministry, but Fudge didn't believe it. He said there was no sign of the Dark Lord anywhere and that all the Death Eaters were in Azkaban. Then it had happened…

Not long after New Years a huge explosion had woken up the guards nearby the Azkaban fortress. By the time Ministry officials got there all the Death Eaters had gotten away, the entire fortress having been burnt down. The Dementors too had vanished without a trace, obviously deciding which side they belonged on. After that the Minister had gone into denial to the point of saying Harry Potter was behind it all. Then he became paranoid, not trusting anyone, even the Ministry members that worked under him. He confined himself to his office, never leaving the Ministry building (for he thought that was the safest place, despite Harry's attempts and telling him the Dark Lord was planning to attack it) and didn't come out of his office much.

Before he had come out occasionally to give out orders, but now he was permanently locked inside, probably rocking back and forth like the lunatic he was. A new Minister would definitely be taking his place, but after the recent troubles were solved. A few people believed what Harry said and left the Ministry building to seek refuge at another place. Many people at Hogwarts believed him as well, but Fudge and many of the stubborn, high-class Ministry members didn't want to believe it. They believed the Ministry was the second safest place besides Hogwarts and said that Harry's so-called visions in the past were what labeled him crazy, only because there was no proof what he said had come true. However, if the Ministry was attacked then finally people would stand up and listen to the poor boy. Malfalda knew she had to talk some sense into the Minister, so she approached his door. But she didn't knock this time. Something caught her eye outside the window.

Cautiously she approached slowly, peering outside. It was blurry at first, the small ball of light, but as it neared she realized just how big it was. It was larger than the Ministry building, the aura around it almost making her head spin, and it was coming toward them. She turned around banging on the Minister's door yelling for him to come out because it was an emergency. The words just barely came out of her mouth before the Ministry building was surrounded in a flaming luminous power that had come from no where, undetected and swallowed it whole.

That had been almost a week ago that it happened—the catastrophe, the apocalypse that everyone was so afraid would come. It was the end of the wizard world, at least to the people but not to the new source of power controlling it. The Ministry had not been destroyed, but the members were quite a different story. Their memories had not only been erased in one swipe, but their identities taken from them. In short, they were "demoted" from top officials to forced followers of Lord Voldemort. Harry Potter's words about the dream he had came true, but everyone was in too much of a panic to notice the connection. And now, the Ministry members that had been inside of the building were no longer able to help anyone, not even themselves. The power that swallowed the Ministry was a mind controlling curse, one that could only be lifted by a very powerful charm to lift the curse, but to yield such a power would take an army, and that's what had created the curse in the first place.

Lord Voldemort had been in hiding in the Riddle house, changing its location and barricading it so not even Dumbledore could sense what he was planning. A whole year or more he waited patiently, slowly gathering the ingredients he needed before he was rewarded greatly. With the help of all ninety of his followers (not including Dementors or other beasts) the curse was able to come alive and put the whole Ministry under his control. The members now thought they belonged to him, served him, and now Lord Voldemort was not only head of the Ministry, but taking over all of Europe, section by section. Most people surrendered themselves to him, begging for mercy and to leave their families unharmed. He would do so, at a cost. Slowly Voldemort began taking over cities after cities, with help from followers, the former Ministry members and those that surrendered.

Hogwarts of course was another one of his targets, and when he got enough power he attacked ruthlessly. Albus Dumbledore was no match for half the wizard world against Hogwarts helping the Dark Lord unwillingly. Even with the help of his most prestigious students and teachers, Hogwarts crumbled under Voldemort's fingers. Students screaming, teachers trying their best to protect them, but in the end Voldemort won out. Dumbledore was seized and for the time being Voldemort left him alive in Azkaban, where he was guarded by Dementors and Death Eaters, along with most aurors or powerful wizards/witches who would not surrender. He had yet to figure out what he planned to do with them. The students and their families were forced into surrendering, the Slytherins more willing than most.

Despite the fact that Voldemort succeeded in his main goal of taking over Europe and having the wizard world bow at his feet, and defeating Dumbledore, something was amiss. Even with all his victory he was still unsatisfied, because the other important goal in his life had not been fulfilled. Killing and defeating Harry Potter. As long as the boy was alive and out there, with many others who escaped into hiding with him, his now slaves had hope that they would be saved. For some mysterious reason, the boy had just vanished without a trace. He hadn't been inside the school when it had been attacked and a small group of people had gone with him. There's was no word why or how this happened, but the survivors of the ambush had gotten away.

Voldemort was enraged and ordered groups of followers after followers to hunt the survivors down and bring them to him alive, but none of them were able to do so. Wherever they were the hiding place was well hidden from practically the whole wizard world, and because of even the small number that had escaped, even just the fact that Harry Potter had escaped him, Voldemort was never satisfied with anything. He enjoyed his role as the leader of the wizard world, ordering things day and night and torturing those he wished, but he always became enraged when Death Eaters approached him saying they couldn't find any trace of the survivors. Endless nights of screaming would echo throughout his fortress, which was made from the former Ministry building, now ten times the size of that and Hogwarts, in which he kept all his slaves working for him.

The roaring of fires rapidly burning throughout the fortress raged on as the wizards and witches now working for Voldemort continued to finish working on the fortress. Young children were sent into a big vast room where they would help with cooking and cleaning, simple chores and punishments were less harsh on them than adults. After all, Lord Voldemort had all of Europe like he wanted, so there was no need to be so merciless when he had everything in his control.

Now a month had passed since he conquered a great deal of the wizard world and the former free people all ready felt like they had been his slaves for a long time. They were preparing for his next goal, which was to invade the muggle world and have them surrender to him, or die. He would of course enjoy torturing them because of his deep malice against muggles. He was cruel to muggle born wizards/witches as well. And despite that muggles had no advantage or powers to use against him, he would make sure they were treated with utmost cruelty. At the moment though, Voldemort was taking his time and not rushing his followers and slaves into finishing up the fortress. He still had to make sure nothing and no one ruined his plan. As long as Harry Potter was out there alive, even though he had the disposal of at least ten to twenty armies of followers, whether forced or not, he felt aggravated and took it out on his Death Eaters most of all.

That day was no different. His slaves were working on the finishing touches of the fortress to build an escape route for him, just for convenience, and also a lair to which he could duel or torture, whichever he preferred. He had said he wanted the survivors alive for a reason, it was because he would have them watch as he dueled Harry Potter, the former savior of the world, and defeated him then torture him to crush the small inkling of hopes the people he controlled had. Then Harry Potter would either surrender to become a slave, whom Voldemort would be especially cruel and harsh on, or he would die a slow and painful death. Either way, Voldemort would get his way. He had proved it so far.

A soft knock came at the door of his chamber where he was constructing a strategic plan to invade and conquer the muggle world and have them bow to him unwillingly. Voldemort, in his long silky, black robe, set down the papers and seated himself in his comfortable velvet, red chair.

"Come in," he hissed.

The door opened and in stepped one of his main followers, Macnair. He approached slowly, head bowed before bending to the floor in a swift motion and began kissing Voldemort's robes. When he was finished he pulled back slightly, head still bowed, and waited for Voldemort to address him.

"Have you come to bring me good news, Macnair?" Voldemort's inhuman voice hissed softly.

Macnair tensed slightly, but otherwise showed no other signs of reaction.

"My lord, I have failed in your request to locate the Potter boy and the other survivors. However, I feel the need to reassure you we have a better lead."

Voldemort's lips curled into a malicious expression, "A better lead? I thought I told you I wanted him within a month!"

Macnair shivered as the hissing caused him to bow lower in attempt to shield himself from the wrath of the Dark Lord.

"M-master, please listen to what I have to say," Macnair stammered.

Voldemort's eyes were glowing with rage, but he sat back in his chair.

"Go on."

"My lord, I know you have been upset that we haven't found a trace of where the others are located. Now that you are in control of the Ministry and we now know exactly who is missing, it will be easier to track them down. Not only that, but we feel because they seem to be untraceable that they're hidden within a sacred vicinity," Macnair explained.

Voldemort's snake-like nostrils lifted slowly as he breathed in deeply. He put a pale, spider-like hand on the armrest of the chair.

"So...you believe they are hiding near a sacred barricade. That makes sense," he hissed quietly, a familiar sneer upon his face.

"Yes, we figured it out because the unicorns and other magical and harmless creatures have disappeared and the only place of safety they could go are temples or areas sacred to them, which is why we no longer can give you fresh unicorn blood but must create the blood using a potion," Macnair continued.

"I see...Very good Macnair. I want you to locate every sacred area and send Dementors out to each place. They will be able to sense them out quicker and then they will report back to me."

"Yes master," Macnair bowed, kissing the hems of his robes. "Is there anything else you require?"

Voldemort's eyes flashed intensely before he leaned back in his chair. "How many survivors have escaped?"

"We're quite certain that about ten did, master. Harry Potter, along with a couple of the Weasleys, I believe the daughter and their youngest son. Then a former professor at Hogwarts; I don't know her name but she taught Divination and a couple young witches named Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood. We're not sure about who else escaped with him at this time—if there were a few others, my liege," Macnair said quietly.

Voldemort's nostrils flared, "I see. And you're sure the boy didn't escape while Hogwarts was being attacked?"

"We are most certain, master. The entire school was surrounded by your loyal army and many of the dark creatures you gathered, like the tyrants. And in the forest and beyond Hogwarts the entire area was surrounded with Dementors to sniff out anyone who could've potentially escaped the castle."

Voldemort stood up slowly and approached one of the windows, looking down at the group way below him. He folded his long spider-like hands behind his back and didn't turn as he spoke.

"So, that means that the boy must've escaped long before the attack," he spoke softly, his words slurring as he hissed them.

Macnair lifted his head slightly. "M-master, are you suggesting that perhaps the boy knew about the attack?"

For a moment there was silence, but Voldemort turned ever-so-slowly around to face him. Immediately Macnair put his head back down, bowing low to the floor.

"It is possible. There were rumors a couple years ago that the boy had visions."

"Yes master, but we checked that out. The boy's family history has no Seers in it so he couldn't possibly have Seer blood in him," Macnair said.

"Hmm…perhaps," he hissed softly. "But somehow he escaped my clutches once again, even when I captured his mentor. If the boy did know I was coming and ran out, taking some with him, I wonder why he would leave his mentor and the rest to die."

"Master, if I may speak…I do believe there was an article published, right before Bella killed Rita Skeeter after getting as much information out of her as possible, it said that the Minister had visited Hogwarts and had denied the boy's claims. Perhaps he escaped with his life because most wouldn't believe him."

"Yes," Voldemort hissed. "It would be like Dumbledore to stay behind and protect those that Harry Potter couldn't. Still, keep your eyes open in case something else is amiss."

"Of course master, as you wish," Macnair bowed again, before disapparating.

Voldemort's deep crimson eyes narrowed into slits as Nagini came hissing out of her corner and crawled on the chair to where his arm lay. Voldemort rubbed her head, sneering to himself.

"Soon Nagini, soon I will finally have Harry Potter in my grasp."

**XXXXXX**

The dark landscape had been burned with fire and hexes, now appearing like a wasteland rather than a sanctuary. Ironically it was the only place they could run to—the only place that wasn't surrounded by Death Eaters and Dementors or creatures of all sorts. This is where the few remaining gentle creatures roamed, looking for any place to hide until the darkness lifted—_if_ it ever lifted. There was a small pond nearby that hadn't been touched. The water was still fairly clean, giving them time to refresh their energy and relax.

Harry stood staring at the darkening sky, wondering how things could have gone so wrong in such a short period of time. He had still been having nightmares about Sirius' death before and brooding over his loss, thinking that that had been the worst that had happened…until Voldemort attacked the Ministry just like he had seen. His vision had been blurry, but he had seen the Ministry members surrendering to Voldemort and doing his bidding. He assumed Voldemort attacked the Ministry, but he never suspected he would use such powerful magic to take control. He knew it must've taken much time to plan and probably used magic from many, if not all, of his followers as well as his own. Voldemort was back to his former strength as he was fifteen years ago and he was even more clever. He learned from all his past mistakes, even the mistakes his Death Eaters made and created a most ingenious plan that proved to be victorious.

Harry wished that things had turned out different. He wished with all of his heart that he could've stayed at Hogwarts with Dumbledore and his fellow students and friends. When news of Hogwart's destruction reached his ears he was numb with shock, as if a lightning bolt had struck him where he stood. Without Hogwarts, without Dumbledore, without everything that had protected him before, he felt more vulnerable than ever.

His eyes glanced over at the small number of people alongside him who were sitting silently by the pond. Some of them were cleaning their wounds and others were drinking, as if the water would wash away their misery and pain. There were only eight of them now including himself: Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Bill, Professor Trelawney, Luna, and Tonks. It was hardly enough to go against Voldemort in order to save the others that had been captured. Harry hoped that Dumbledore was still alive…and Remus too…and everyone else. He wanted so bad to run to Voldemort's fortress and threaten him, but with what? He had no special powers—nothing to trade with Voldemort. He wondered briefly if this was the end. Perhaps it was, but they had all survived didn't they? There was a reason for everything. And if in fact they couldn't win, they could at least try.

He sighed heavily before turning to head back to the group. They were all relying on him for survival. None of them showed it, but he could see it in their eyes. And he bet that even those captured by Voldemort were waiting for him to barge in there and defeat him allowing them to finally be set free. The burden had never been so heavy on him, but what could he do that no one could? If only he had seen what was behind the door in the Ministry—the door that supposedly contained the power that Harry had that Voldemort didn't.

Harry's heart suddenly skipped a beat as if a twinge of hope had suddenly risen within him. He remembered the door—the one that he had seen himself the previous year when he had been tricked into going to the Ministry. That one door that couldn't be open by anyone—anyone except himself. It had to still be there. If Voldemort couldn't open it then he couldn't get rid of it. Perhaps now was the time to finally see what was behind it. Harry caught something moving out of the corner of his eye and he turned to see a unicorn and her baby trying to find a place to hide in. The baby hid its head into the mother's shimmering hair. A small bought of courage welled up inside him and he turned around heading back to the group. Tired and sad eyes glanced up at him all around, but he stood firm, knowing that they wouldn't have the will to give survival a chance if he didn't appear strong. He knew it wasn't their fault—they were just looking for anything that would make them feel like they had a chance.

"I can't believe this happened," Ron choked out dryly.

Ginny was curled up between him and Bill, afraid that their parents might not have made it. Old tears were still dribbling down her cheeks and fresh ones were soon to come. Harry cleared his throat, causing Ginny to look up at him with weary eyes, as well as the rest of them.

"I've got an idea," Harry said.

Ginny lifted up her head and Hermione did too, having been hiding her face in her hands beside Ron. Tonks was already sitting down and glanced at him with surprise. Her normally cheerful eyes had taken on a dismal glint though surprisingly she didn't seem to want to give up as easily as the others.

"Tonks," Harry said, turning to her, "how much do you know about the inside of the Ministry, or how it was before?"

She scrunched up her face in thought, "Well…quite a bit, I think."

"Why?" Ron whispered hoarsely. "Why would any of that matter? You-Know-Who has taken over the entire Ministry and changed it to his own deranged fortress! He's got thousands upon thousands on his side now! And mum and dad…"

Ginny choked on a sob, but didn't allow herself to cry fully. Harry was inwardly angry at Ron for voicing all the fear out loud. Right now they needed strength—the will to do what he was about to suggest they do.

"It matters a lot, Ron. At least for those of us who still want to live and free those that have been caught," Harry said firmly.

"We can't free them! It's impossible!" Ron exclaimed.

"It's _not_ impossible!" Harry shouted at him, causing Ron to wince from surprise. "If you're going to put the doubt and fear that should be kept at the back of our minds out in the open then I suggest you not come!"

Harry knew he was being harsh on his best friend, but right now he had to be—if they wanted to survive. Ron would forgive him later on. His eyes gave away that he looked slightly hurt, but Harry needed to convince him that it wasn't hopeless. He needed to convince all of them that there was a chance. Everyone was now looking at him firmly and Harry could see that all they needed was another slight push before they gave it one last ounce of determination.

"Look," Harry said more calmly, "I know things are looking bad—hell, they're looking damn near impossible but we _do_ have a chance! I need you all to put in your last ounce of strength to do this. If it fails then you can give up."

"And what, sign ourselves over to the Dark Lord?" Bill asked, rubbing Ginny's back to calm her down.

Harry sighed, "No. If we truly give this a shot and it doesn't work then…then we can give up."

"Give up, you mean as in surrender?" Tonks asked, blinking curiously.

Harry nodded. "You all can if you truly lose all hope. I'll never surrender to Voldemort. I'll never give him the pleasure of killing the last potter," he said bitterly. "I'll fight to my death like my father but that's only the absolute last resort."

"Oh I knew something like this was going to happen!" Professor Trelawney wailed suddenly.

She had been quiet up until that moment. Harry wasn't sure why Dumbledore had suggested that he take her with them as well, but there was always a reason. Dumbledore had known that Hogwarts was going to be attacked and Harry supposed that Dumbledore knew there was no way he or many of the students and teachers would get away. So right after the incident with Fudge, when Harry told him about his vision, Dumbledore sent him packing with the few people beside him and went to this place that he directed them to. The only way Harry knew about the attack on Hogwarts was because he could see the smoke from the small mountain-type hill that he had apparated to that overlooked a vast area, including Hogwarts which had been across the large pond in the distance.

Harry hadn't understood why Dumbledore wanted him away. He should've known it after revealing his vision, but everyone was in such a panic that he didn't even register that Dumbledore was saving him and these few with him. Harry thought it was a small mission for the Order to go out to the place and then Dumbledore would send a message to him. But after a couple days of no response Harry got worried and that's when he saw the smoke…

_But why…Why wouldn't Dumbledore tell me anything? Why would he only choose this small group to survive? How could this small of a group defeat Voldemort! There must've been a reason he chose us…if only I could figure it out. _

Professor Trelawney was still wailing over how she knew something bad was going to happen. All the times she had seen the grim was finally proving true. Harry inwardly rolled his eyes and looked to Bill for help in order to calm her, Ginny and Ron down.

"What is it that you have in mind?" Bill asked, staring at him with determined eyes.

Harry took in a deep breath. "I'm sure you all know of the prophecy by now," he started. "What wasn't said was how to defeat Voldemort. The prophecy only said one of us would survive. Dumbledore told me that Voldemort's weakness lies beyond the door in the Ministry."

"But the Ministry doesn't exist anymore!" Ron exclaimed in a panic.

"Ron calm down," Bill said, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Let Harry finish."

Professor Trelawney choked on a sob, but didn't say anything, which Harry was grateful for. He nodded toward Bill in thanks and continued.

"I know that the Ministry has been destroyed, for now," he added, watching as their eyes looked slightly less depressed. "But Voldemort could not have destroyed that room—the room beyond the prophecy room. I'm most certain he wouldn't even think of destroying the prophecy room because he has all the prophecies in the world that have been predicted, even though they're not about him. And the door beyond that in the tiny room can only be unlocked by two people: Dumbledore and me," Harry said, hesitating as he looked at all of them. "I'm not sure what lies beyond it, but it's the answer to our salvation. We _have_ to get beyond that door and in order to do it we will have to sneak into Voldemort's fortress.

"I know that's dangerous," Harry said, before Ron or anyone else could interrupt saying it's a death wish, "but it's our only option. I have an idea of how to distract Voldemort so he at least won't be looking within his fortress for us. He wants me badly—I don't just know this I can _feel_ it. I know an advanced charm that can project an astral projection of me and I can purposefully get seen by Voldemort's Death Eaters so that Voldemort will be on the hunt for me. It'll lead him away from this sanctuary and allow us easier access inside."

"But if you use astral projection then your real self won't be able to do anything," Bill said.

Harry nodded, "I know. I will project myself elsewhere from here, allowing Death Eaters to see me some place farther away and then we'll head to the fortress. Since Voldemort just expanded the Ministry building and changed its appearance the original building is still there—built inside of it, which means there's an underground passage that leads to the Minister's office. I'm sure there will be Death Eaters and Dementors lurking around for intruders, but Hermione is exceptional with distraction charms," he said glancing at her with a small smile.

"And Ron is great at binding spells. As long as he can shoot the back of a Death Eater then that Death Eater won't be able to move for a long time. And Luna," he said, gesturing to her as she sat quietly and calmly next to Hermione, "is excellent with disarming and summoning astral animals that look real and can chase the Death Eaters away. Bill, I know you're great with hexes and invisibility charms on yourself. Tonks…," Harry hesitated, knowing that Tonks was incredibly clumsy but she had a very important ability, "you have the most important ability of all."

"Really?" she perked up.

Harry nodded seriously. "Yes, you have the ability of metamorphamagus. I know it's going to be challenging, but do you think you'd be able to change your entire appearance?"

Tonks blinked, "Oh, well I haven't had much experience with that. I've changed my hair and my face and different parts of my body but never my entire self at the same time."

"I know, Tonks. But you're our last hope. If you get the hang of it and start practicing now with the people that are here while I project my astral self to lead many of the Death Eaters out of the fortress, then we'll be prepared for when the time comes. You'll need to know how to change into a Death Eater, one that we end up tying up or knocking unconscious so that the real one doesn't just show up. That way you can allow us past the prophecy room and toward the door that we need to get to. Once there, after I open the door and figure out what's behind it, I can project another astral me to distract the Death Eaters so that we can get out."

"But if we don't know what's behind the door how do we know we can take it out? Or how do we know there's even anything useful?" Bill asked skeptically.

Harry sighed heavily and shook his head. "We don't. But I trust Dumbledore with my life. He's been my mentor and has taught me everything. He's protected me from Voldemort and has trained me to fight against him. If Dumbledore says Voldemort's weakness is in there then it's there. All we have to do is get to it."

Harry looked around at all of them seeing expressions change on their faces as hope was restored. Even if it was a slight amount and temporary at least they'd have a chance now. From everyone's faces, Harry could see a unanimous agreement.

"What about me!" Professor Trelawney asked almost desperately. She looked frightened but at the same time didn't want to be left out.

Harry knew exactly what to say to her to keep her calm and not ruin the plan. "You also have an important job. You have to stay here and concentrate to see if you can get a vision. But also your job will be to lead us back here. The purpose of the sacred area is so no one can find it. I did as Dumbledore told me and burnt up his directions. I'll have to perform a memory charm on all of us, including myself, except you to forget where this place is in case a Death Eater does capture one of us. However, when we're escaping, once we've gone through the door, you have to lead us back. We'll send up yellow sparks to let you know it's us and you send up blue sparks."

"But what if Death Eaters find this place!" she wailed, cupping her hands over her mouth.

"Don't worry. Dumbledore also told me about an underground cave that's actually hidden beneath this pond. In order to get inside you swim underwater to the northeast corner, he said, and there should be a large rock that looks like a wizard's hat from a side view. You go up to it and tap it three times in a clockwise manner and it opens a tiny passage for you to swim through and inside is a cave. Dumbledore said that was used during the first war and Voldemort never discovered it so you should be safe. Ginny will stay with you as well," Harry said, glancing at her.

"There should be a way to look above the surface of the water from down there—like an opening. You'll be able to find it, I trust both of your abilities," Harry smiled almost sadly. "We should be back in just a few hours, hopefully. Keep a look out but don't move from the cave."

Ginny nodded her head fearfully, giving both her brothers and Hermione a quick hug. He turned toward Tonks and nodded toward her.

"Go ahead and practice trying to change into someone. I'm going to be sitting her concentrating to project as astral me in front of Death Eaters. Once I'm done and I'm sure they're far enough away and on the wrong trail, we'll head out."

Slow nods went all around and Harry took a deep breath, sitting down beside the pond and closing his eyes. He was nervous because he hadn't had much practice with astral projections. Dumbledore had only taught him a little bit, but Harry knew that he had to do this. All he had to do was remember everything Dumbledore taught him and he'd be able to do it. He heard Tonks as she used Ginny, Hermione and the others as practice, trying her best to get the hang of her ability to its max. It was all up to them—all eight of them—to stop Voldemort's domination and save the entire wizard world.

**XXXXXX**

The air was hot and smelled of blood. The atmosphere was sickeningly depressing with dead corpses lining the floors. The dungeon was the worst place to go in the fortress and no one dared to enter into it, not even the Slytherins. Although the Slytherins too had surrendered Voldemort treated them more respectfully and didn't torture them half as much. Still, it was hell—a hell that Dumbledore had feared would come.

He remained locked in his cell with charms and hexes all around him covering the steel cage. It was small, only about ten feet wide and fifteen feet long. An entire month he had been stuck there slowing losing his strength from not eating and not drinking. He wasn't fazed too much though. Harry had escaped and that was what mattered most. He was the only one who could take that one step further to save them all. The entire Hogwarts staff had known about this for a while, ever since Harry had told them about his vision. Dumbledore knew it would come true so he had held a meeting. He told them that there was nothing they could do—they would allow Voldemort to attack and confine them for Dumbledore knew he wouldn't kill them right away. All they needed was a little bit of time.

The teachers had been frightened and confused as to why he was choosing it. They tried to tell him that they could fight and put up barricades and Dumbledore told them that if they wasted time like that, if they tried to fight, it would mean that Harry would want to stay and help them. And Voldemort would then get him for sure. Even Snape was angry at the fact that Dumbledore would risk all their lives and the lives of the students just for one boy, but he knew…he knew what Harry had to do otherwise the war would go and on and on and thousands upon thousands of families would be torn apart. It would living in misery for possibly a century or however long it took to overrule Voldemort. Dumbledore knew a shortcut—a shortcut that would spare them all that agony. Yes, they'd have to endure misery and torture for a little while in Voldemort's cold, merciless hands, but it would be better than a lifetime of misery, tragedy and living in fear.

He couldn't tell the teachers anything for if Voldemort suspected anyone knew a way to defeat him he'd torture them until they spilled everything to him then he'd kill them. That was why he erased his own memory after giving the orders to the staff. He didn't erase everything—he knew that Harry had figured out Voldemort's weakness deep in his unconscious. He had known it the entire time but it was up to him and him alone to find it. It was a terribly great burden and would cause him unbearable pain and it would also be a long journey but Harry would save them—this was his destiny whether or not anyone believed the prophecy.

He knew Harry had a great power harboring deep inside of him and that he would be able to figure out exactly what to do. If he hadn't allowed Harry, and the select few that would guide him to the start of his unfortunate journey, to escape and had instead tried his hardest to fight and save Hogwarts it would've only ended in misery anyway and Harry would have most likely been killed by Voldemort. Then the world's only chance at restoring peace would disappear. Even Voldemort could sense something about Harry, something different from the average wizard. This unfortunate tragedy—Hogwart's downfall—was necessary for peace in the end.

Dumbledore knew Voldemort wouldn't kill him yet and would keep him rotting in the dungeon until he captured Harry just to torture and kill the poor boy in front of him. However, he had trained Harry well and he knew he was capable of dodging capture as he proved the last year in the Ministry building when Voldemort had been after the prophecy. Dumbledore only hoped that Harry would remember what he had told him before he had left and listened to his advice. What he had said may not have made sense then but if Harry figured it out it would be of great help. Unfortunately, Harry would not be pleased with the task laid out for him. Dumbledore prayed that he wouldn't let the pain consume him and that he would see what was really there—what no one else would be able to see.

The door to the dungeon rumbled and Dumbledore opened his eyes wearily. He still had plenty of strength left, much to the Death Eaters' disappointment, but it only mattered that he stay alive long enough till Harry takes the step into his journey—then it would begin. Dumbledore's lips curled into a smile and his eyes flashed a surge of power before he hid it behind an expressionless mask as several Death Eaters approached the cell.

Bella Lestrange glared at him from the other side and tapped her wand against her side. The Death Eaters enjoyed sending curses into his cell and loving the fact that he couldn't escape it since he was bound against the wall. However, he reacted slightly more dramatically than they realized…all for a very good reason. They had to believe he was becoming weaker and weaker so that when they saw him dead in the cell it would be believable. Even Voldemort wouldn't suspect a thing. Tom Riddle was clever, oh yes, more clever than anyone Dumbledore had ever met, but…he had a weakness. And that weakness was Harry Potter. Voldemort would be too distracted about capturing Harry to look deeply into why Dumbledore would die, especially of old age. Tom Riddle would know that Dumbledore couldn't possibly die of natural causes but Voldemort would be too obsessed with wanting Harry's blood to notice the small connection.

"Master is too busy to speak to you directly so we're here to get some information out of you old man," Bella sneered.

She made a gesture and the other Death Eater Macnair stepped forward, undoing the charms and hexes to step inside. Dumbledore merely glanced at him and allowed him to pull his head back roughly and shove Veritaserum down his throat.

"Now, tell us where the boy is!" Bella demanded angrily.

"I don't know," Dumbledore replied calmly.

"Liar!" Bella screeched.

Dumbledore remained passive since he was under the spell of the truth potion. He knew what it was doing to him, since he was aware of it, but it didn't matter for he knew nothing. He had cleverly erased his memory of Harry's whereabouts as well so he truly knew nothing. But his gut told him Harry was safe and would do exactly what he was destined to do.

Bella stalked into the cell and pointed her wand at him. "TELL ME NOW YOU OLD FOOL!"

"Bella stop this," Macnair growled pushing her hand away. "Master doesn't want him dead."

"I wasn't going to kill him," she said bitterly, glaring heatedly at him. "I was just going to give him unbearable pain!"

The other man, Dolohov, who was behind her, shook his head. "He won't react because he's hypnotized right now."

Bella scowled and put her wand back in her robes. "How can he know nothing!"

"Maybe he didn't know the boy would leave the castle," Macnair suggested.

"I highly doubt that. They care for each other so sickeningly much it's pathetic!" she spat. "Dumbledore surely wouldn't let the boy run off!" she scowled darkly. "Master's not going to be pleased. We haven't been able to find the boy anywhere and without this old fool's help we may not find him soon enough!"

"We will," Dolohov answered. "Macnair said he figured out he might be hiding in a sacred area."

"Do you know how many there are? And some of them are almost impossible to get to because they're _hidden_!" Bella shouted angrily, clenching her fist and slamming it against the cell wall.

"Yes, but master says if we send Dementors they'll be able to sneak past the sacred barricades. So they'll report back when they've found a trace of them," Macnair replied.

Bella unclenched her fists but continued to scowl. "Fine!" she exclaimed, stalking back out of the cell. "Leave him here to rot! He's of no use to us! Hopefully master will kill him soon."

Macnair followed her out and the cell was once again locked up with charms and hexes. Dumbledore stared straight ahead as if in a trance, but he could hear everything going on. He would just have to wait an hour before the affects wore off but until then he'd have to be patient. Harry was safe but only for now. Eventually the Dementors would be able to get inside and then they'd have no where to hide. It was now or never.

_I believe in you Harry. You can do this. Your parents had great power as you do. You just have to look deep inside yourself and find that strength. And when you do…you can save us all. _

**XXXXXX**

Harry opened his eyes and lifted his head straining his ears. He could've sworn he heard something. Perhaps it was his imagination caused by the stress and agony of their situation. It was hard astral projecting but he managed to be seen by a Dementor that had chased his astral self into a forest. Hopefully Voldemort would send out most of his Death Eaters to hunt down the illusion so that they wouldn't have too much of a problem getting inside. He stood up from his spot and turned to where Tonks was still practicing.

"Are you guys ready? It's time," Harry said.

Ron visibly gulped and looked up at Bill who nodded grimly. Tonks didn't seem fazed much as she nearly tripped over the long black hair she had morphed onto herself. Ginny had pulled her arms over her legs and she and Hermione were leaning up against one another in silence. Harry got the feeling that they were trying to say goodbye to one another in case something bad happened to either one of them. Professor Trelawney was biting her nails and looking all around her wildly but didn't say anything. And Luna remained passive wearing an unreadable expression.

Harry took a deep breath and walked toward Ginny resting a hand on her shoulder. Her lips quivered and suddenly she threw her arms around him crying onto his chest, since he was a few inches taller than she was. Harry was startled and stumbled a bit but awkwardly rubbed her back. He didn't know how to soothe her pain and fear—he didn't even know how to soothe his own. But he did the best he could and when she pulled away, tears streaming down her cheeks, Harry gave her a small smile to give her some reassurance. She wiped at her eyes then ran over to her brothers to give them hugs goodbye. It took them longer to part but finally Professor Trelawney and Ginny stood beside one another to see them off before they had to crawl into the hidden hiding place.

They watched as the six of them trudged slowly together toward the path to what used to be the Ministry building. Harry knew they wouldn't have too much trouble getting to the building since the Dementors where busy looking in the wrong place, but it was sneaking inside that would be the hardest part.

Just like he predicted it only took them a half an hour to get there. They jogged half the way there to save time and soon they came into the clearing where the large fortress stood black as could be. Its appearance had changed so drastically Harry was almost sure they took a wrong turn, but it was the same pond nearby and the same telephone booth that stood unused that told him this was it. There were a couple Dementors outside the building, but Harry knew exactly what to do. Conjuring up his famous patronus charm he sent them hurtling through the air in fear. They wouldn't be back for a few minutes and once they came back they'd search the grounds for intruders but wouldn't find any. Luckily they weren't smart enough to go warn Voldemort they had been chased away by a Patronus Charm.

It was suicide to go in the entrance, but there was a window that they'd be able to break into. Voldemort was still finishing the fortress and since he had conquered so much he felt no need to keep hexes or anything around the fortress so it wasn't too difficult to break the window and creep inside then use _Reparo_ to fix it back up. Footsteps were noticeable nearby so Harry summoned his invisibility cloak and expanded it so it fit around all of them. They hid breathlessly in the dark as several Death Eaters passed by chatting about the progress on the fortress.

"Come on," Harry whispered, once they had passed.

Ron was shaking beside him but followed him as they slipped into the hallway and headed toward the prophecy room. They were all cloaked in the invisibility cloak but that wouldn't help them in every situation. Harry stopped them and peered around the corner of the next hall and saw five Death Eaters standing together. He looked at Hermione and nodded and she glanced at him and nodded back, looking slightly pale. She held out her wand and pointed it at a small bug crawling in the wall. She whispered something and it suddenly transfigured into a Gremlin—a nasty creature that caused all sorts of trouble.

Hermione zapped it in its back and it screeched running out into the hall. They heard the Death Eaters give a shout of surprise and they began throwing curses at it. The Gremlin, having been a bug but suddenly gaining the personality of a Gremlin, began cackling in a hoarse, inhuman way and ran down the hall quickly. The Death Eaters chased after it and they wasted no time in running the opposite way down the hall that would curve toward the stairs.

And once they went down the flight they'd have to keep going until they reached the ninth floor—the lowest floor of the Ministry building— where the Department of Mysterious had been. Even if the entire floor had been rearranged the Locked Door (as it was called since no magic or device could open it) and the Hall of Prophecy would still be there. All they had to do was remember the area where the rooms had been.

They did exactly that and Luna placed a charm on their shoes so they could run quietly down the stairs. When they got to the bottom they held their breath as more Death Eaters were down there walking around and conversing. It seemed that every direction had a Death Eater which meant they couldn't create a diversion. They needed something else…

"Tonks," Harry whispered, "do you think you could transform into one of the Death Eaters we saw upstairs really quickly?"

"Harry! What if they come down?" Hermione whispered fearfully.

"We just need to get down that hall. That's where the door leads to the Hall of Prophecy and beyond that is the Locked Door that we need to get to. We're almost there."

"I'm not sure if I could do it," Tonks whispered, blinking a few times. "I practiced a little but I'm not sure if I can fully complete it."

Harry's stomach lurched but he knew they had no choice. "Just do the best you can."

Tonks nodded and sucked in a deep breath. The sound caused one of the Death Eaters nearby to turn his head. Harry's heart was pounding loudly and he watched Tonks close her eyes and concentrate. She began to morph very slightly. Her arms became bulkier and then her legs but she didn't appear to be able to even it out. Harry was nervously glancing at the Death Eater approaching.

"Just concentrate on the face. You can always wear a cloak," Harry whispered.

Tonks apparently heard for her body stopped morphing and her face began to change. The Death Eater nearby walked swiftly toward them and looked around for the source of the noise, coming very close to the doorway which was mere feet from the bottom of the stairs. All of a sudden a figure moved from inside the cloak and at first thought they were flipping it off to reveal them, but instead the figure slipped from it and approached the Death Eater, who stopped and stared in the dark.

"Malavin is that you?"

"Yes," Tonks said and Harry bit his lip when her voice didn't come out very deep.

"What's up with you?" The Death Eater asked, crossing his arms.

"Nothing," she said a bit deeper. "I just uh…need to get something."

"What?" he asked curiously.

"Erm…just a…brain for the master," she answered quickly.

The Death Eater's eyes glimmered in the dim light. "What did you say?"

"You know, from the brain room."

"Oh," the Death Eater replied. "What for?"

"Don't know, he didn't say. But I should hurry before he becomes agitated."

"Okay," the Death Eater replied.

Tonks began to move past him but he grabbed her arm. Harry froze, having been moving quietly behind Tonks to get past the Death Eater.

"Do you know if the Dementors were successful in catching the boy?"

"Um…no I don't but I do know they're hot on his trail."

The Death Eater's lips curled into a malicious smile. "Good."

He let go of Tonks' arm and Harry and the rest of them moved very slowly out of the doorway as the Death Eater watched Tonks walk down the hall. Tonks made sure not to rush to look suspicious and Harry had to make sure they didn't bump into oncoming Death Eaters who might find it odd bumping against something invisible. Ron nearly tripped over Harry's foot while a couple Death Eaters were passing and they turned their heads from the noise but only nodded at Tonks who nodded back. Harry's eyes widened as he noticed Tonks' hair was changing back to normal. He tapped her back to tell her to move quickly and she jumped a bit startled but got the message.

They made it to the end of the hall and Tonks opened the door and they followed her inside. Harry nearly choked at the sight of all the prophecies lined on the shelves. The room was still the same as it had been. And there across the room was the Locked Door—the door that Harry had wanted to open since he tried.

Tonks easily changed back into herself and sighed heavily. "Wow, that was challenging."

"Wait, Harry," Ron whispered. "How can we open that door?"

"What do you mean?" Harry whispered back, as they all approached it.

"Remember last time you used the magic knife and it melted? No magic or anything works on it! How will we get in?" Ron whispered hoarsely.

Harry's eyes widened. He had completely forgotten about the fact that he had already tried to get inside. Yes, Dumbledore told him what lie beyond it was Voldemort's weakness (which happened to be love like when Harry's mom sacrificed herself for him) and Dumbledore said that's what Harry has most of, but he never thought about _how_ to open it. Dumbledore had said something to him before he had left. He had said: "Harry, things may get more painful and you may find yourself having to suffer more than others but remember that emotions can be cloaked so that you may see what lies beyond what is so obvious. When the time comes you will have to face the one thing you fear most and I know that you will reach forward and raise what covers your destiny and step inside."

He didn't understand what Dumbledore was trying to tell him. And he wasn't even sure if his advice could help. Beside him Ron was fuming with a mixture of fear, anxiety and anger.

"You mean we just walked into a death trap for nothing!" he hissed.

"Ron be quiet I'm trying to think!" Harry snapped defensively.

"Oh right, now you want to think. You should've done that before putting all our lives on the line!" he snapped back heatedly.

"Ron—" Bill began, but Ron silenced him with a look.

"Harry, you dragged us here and even gave us your famous heroic speech, so how come you don't have a plan to get us inside!" he said angrily.

Harry knew Ron was talking out of fear and desperation but he was still boiling inside. He knew it was his mistake but if he hadn't gotten them up and going they would've wasted precious time and never would've made it that far.

"Would you just let me…"

Harry trailed off as he noticed finally that Luna was no longer beneath the cloak. She had approached the door and staring at it, pressing her ear up against it. Ron stopped arguing and turned to where Harry was staring.

"What is it Luna?" Hermione whispered.

"I hear voices," she said quietly.

Ron and Harry exchanged uneasy looks and even Tonks looked curious.

"Voices?" she asked curiously.

"What do you mean? If no one's been able to open that door how can anyone be there?" Ron asked uncertainly.

"Shh!" Luna whispered putting a finger to her mouth. "They're saying something."

Ron glanced at her and then stared at Harry with the expression that read: "She's looney!" Harry just watched her closely waiting for her to do something. Luna was strange alright but there was something else about her. She had seen the Thiestals like Harry had and she had eased his pain slightly about Sirius. Luna lifted her head off of it and nodded. She put her hands on the doorknob and Harry stepped forward to stop her, remembering what happened to the knife, but he was too late.

Luna grabbed hold and pulled. The door opened slowly as if it were heavy until it was wide enough for them to fit through. Hermione's eyes were wide and Ron's mouth had dropped open in shock. Harry too was staring unbelieving. He had tried to open the door before, but how could Luna have opened it so easily?

"Luna…how?" Harry whispered.

Luna turned to him and stared at him evenly, her misty eyes holding an emotion Harry couldn't place.

"The voices said I could open the door."

"Maybe we shouldn't go inside if someone's in there," Ron whispered, shivering slightly.

Hermione's face suddenly changed as her eyebrows furrowed. "No! We got this far we're going all the way!"

"But what if there's nothing inside! What if there's nothing to help us! Then we'd have done this for nothing!" Ron argued, turning to her.

Hermione glared at him firmly. "Then it'd be better than sitting where we were waiting for death to find us. At least we're doing something."

Ron was taken aback but he shut his mouth. Harry inched forward beside Luna and then nodded. Hermione followed behind him with Tonks at her side and then Ron and Bill. They all entered into the room, hoping that what they'd find would be well worth the risk they had taken.

_ TO BE CONTINUED..._

**Author's Note:**I hope to update this by this upcoming weekend! I hope you guys enjoyed the prologue! I'm not really sure how long this story will be right now but I'll try to keep the chapters nice and long like this. Thanks!


	2. The Veil's Secret

**Behind the Veil**

**Author's Note: _I'm so sorry! It's been like a year since I updated this! I had great plans for it, too! And it's really only going to be a few chapters long. It's just about what I believe the mystery behind the veil is, but it does deal with Harry having to face Voldemort as well. I was really hoping to get it finished a long while back but then the sixth book came out and I began doing other stories, plus college. Anyway, now I'm finally updating! This will be finished by this summer, hopefully even before. Thank you!_**

**_STORY NOTE:_** **_This will only be a couple more chapters long and because it's been a long time and most everyone has read the sixth book, there will be some hints about it, but the story really isn't going to change much. _**

**Chapter 1: The Veil's Secret**

Only darkness met their eyes as they all walked further into the room. A voice whispered _lumos_, followed by others soon after. Harry could hear the harsh, erratic breathing from Ron. Behind them the door creaked shut and they all whipped around, frightened. Beside him, Hermione had grasped his arm not intending to let go.

"Luna? Where's Luna?" Tonks called out nervously, shifting nearby.

Someone stepped on Harry's foot and he nearly tripped. Blinding the person in front of him, he realized Tonks was now squinting and he murmured an apology. The air was cold and stale, as if the door had never been opened. From the dim light he could make out the cement floor and other figures around him.

"Luna!" Hermione whispered loudly sounding quite afraid.

"Look! There's something over there," Bill whispered unsteadily.

For a minute, Harry wondered what Bill was referring to. It seemed that the room was empty except for the vast darkness. There was a sense about it, like there was supposed to be much more to the room but nothing was visible. Through the dim light of their wands, Harry made out something standing several feet away. On instinct he raised his wand, fearing the worst.

"Wait," he whispered fearfully, causing Hermione to stall.

"What? What is it?" Ron choked out while spinning in all directions.

For a split second he reminded him of Mad-Eye Moody, but he shook the thought away. To his surprise, as he approached cautiously, the figure turned out to be Luna standing in the dark with her back to him. He felt a little embarrassed for believing it was Voldemort and nearly causing others panic; he reminded himself that his scar would surely burn if Voldemort was close.

"Luna?" Harry called out.

They were all walking toward her, though Harry was more in front. As he came close, his eyes gently gazed up and saw what she was facing. The shock of the sight made his feet freeze in their place, causing Ron to bump into him. Luna stood staring at a familiar sight; a tall, mysterious structure with a veil cloaked over it. It was _the_ veil—the veil that Sirius had fallen behind and never returned; the same veil that the Ministry kept hidden away for they knew nothing about it. All anyone knew was that those that lifted the curtain never came back.

A thought crossed his mind: he wondered why the Ministry never just destroyed it but then a second later he realized he knew the answer. Obviously they had tried and lost Ministry members to it—that was why the veil was hidden away never to be touched, but why was it in that room behind the locked door? Had Dumbledore known it would end up there? Or perhaps there had been nothing behind the door in the first place. Voldemort could've used magic to move it into the room, having no use for it. However if the Ministry members' magic didn't have an affect on it, it was possible neither did Voldemort's. If that was true though, then how did it get inside that room?

"Harry?"

Hermione's voice was soft and unsure as if worried that seeing the veil would make him break down. No, not anymore. He had accepted that Sirius wasn't coming back and seeing it wasn't going to change that. Slowly, he turned toward her and pushed his thoughts away, shrugging.

"It's the veil."

"I know. Is this what Dumbledore meant?" she asked.

Even her question sounded as if she didn't expect an answer. Normally, Dumbledore's advice was always in pieces or riddles; never had Harry figured out his advice in time.

"I thought you said You-Know-Who's weakness was behind the door!" Ron exclaimed as his voice cracked from fear.

Feeling frustrated, Harry sent him a cold glare. "Ron, it's not like Dumbledore meant there would be a huge floating power in the center of the room that I could miraculously absorb to become Superman."

Ron sent a somewhat quizzical look not understanding who Superman was.

"So what do we do?" Bill asked uncertainly.

Laced within his tone Harry was certain he heard the doubt. With clenched fists, he scowled. "I don't know the answer to everything, alright?" he retorted angrily, causing both Ron and Bill to stare at him in surprise.

"Harry, calm down," Hermione tried to soothe him. "We know you can't do it alone; that's why we're here."

Feeling rather foolish for blowing up, Harry sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. "Look, I'm sorry. I wish Dumbledore was more straightforward."

"Yeah," Ron muttered darkly. "It's like he wants us to die."

Hermione's head swiveled around to stare at him incredulously. "Don't be ridiculous, Ron! What would he gain from our deaths?"

"He's probably just as wacko as You-Know-Who," Ron slumped onto the floor. "Now we're trapped in this room. We'll either starve to death here, die of boredom or death eaters will find us."

"Could you keep your depressing comments to yourself!" Hermione snapped in annoyance, looking both irritated and concerned.

The arguing and doubts weren't doing them good, but instead of trying to stop them, Harry ignored them and approached Luna, who hadn't moved from her spot.

"Luna, what is it?" Harry asked quietly.

It was as if she was in a trance and couldn't hear him. Her eyes were focused on the veil, unblinking and her body was rigid. Cautiously, Harry reached out his hand and touched her arm. Her eyes responded by blinking and then she inclined her head slowly to face him.

"What is it? Do you hear something?" he asked.

"Voices," she replied wistfully; her eyes illuminated with an emotion he couldn't quite place.

"What are they saying?" he asked taking a side glance at the veil.

Her expression turned thoughtful before her eyes rested on it once more. "I hear them…it's like…like they're speaking to me."

"What are they saying to you?" Harry repeated.

Luna just shook her head, open-mouthed. "They're the same voices from before," she whispered.

Harry stared at her uncertainly, unaware that Ron and Hermione were still arguing while Bill was trying to break them up.

"Are they telling you that you'll see your mum again?" he asked gently, knowing that's what she had told him fifth year about the veil.

Unexpectedly, Luna had rounded on him with a look of shock before it morphed into something unreadable. Slowly, she nodded but otherwise did nothing more. Harry remained standing by her trying to hear what she was hearing. Although there had been rumors in school about her being a little less than normal, he didn't believe she would make it up. And if she could see Thiestals like he could then perhaps she could hear something.

Leaning forward, Harry stood stiffly and listened hard. He felt a bit foolish at first until soft whispers, almost inaudible, faded through the air. Wrinkling his brow, he was certain it was his imagination, but then it came again—an unintelligible sound that reached his ears then faded almost instantly. Subconsciously, Harry stepped forward intent on figuring out what was being said. Luna grabbed his arm suddenly and gestured for him to step back.

"That won't help. You have to block out all your thoughts and just let it come," she said in a peculiar tone. She was staring at him with wide eyes as if she desperately wanted him to hear the voices.

Though the expression on her face made him slightly uncomfortable, he did as she advised him and closed his eyes.

"…_in here…," _a voice whispered in his mind. "…_test…power…will see…," _it hissed.

Harry held in a gasp and concentrated on fully clearing his mind.

"…_can come to see the unseen…," _the voice continued, louder now. "_The answers you seek are near. The power of the…_," the voice trailed off.

Harry's eyes snapped open as loud voices from behind interrupted the message. He wheeled around to see Hermione fuming and Ron glowering with reddened ears.

"Will you two be quiet!" Harry blurted out, sounding more angry than he intended.

The two jerked their heads in surprise and Harry gave them an irritated look. Hermione flushed from embarrassment.

"There are voices in the veil," Harry said.

"What?" Ron exclaimed, staring at him wide-eyed as if he had just announced he was joining Voldemort.

"The voices; I heard them," he said, glancing at each one of them.

Tonks came into view with a curious expression (and strangely with long pink hair). Bill exchanged glances with Ron and Hermione. By all sense of logic, it didn't make sense and he was certain Hermione was having a difficult time taking in his words, but he knew it wasn't his imagination.

"What did they say?" Tonks asked wondrously.

"Something about finding the answers I need," Harry said, glancing over his shoulder at it.

Bill looked surprised and stepped forward to get a better look, raising his wand up as he did so. "Maybe Dumbledore was right."

"That's insane!" Ron snapped, gesturing wildly with his hands. "The veil can't talk! It's nothing except dark magic. All it's able to do is steal lives, like Dementors only it doesn't leave a trace of them!"

"Come on, Ron! Dumbledore told me to go here; this must be the reason," Harry insisted.

"Harry," Hermione spoke up softly, unable to meet his gaze. "Ron's right. How would this veil help you defeat the Dark Lord? No one knows anything about it, not even Dumbledore. It's just been around for many years and every time someone tries to figure out if there's something more to it, they die. I mean, what if the dark magic in it makes you _believe_ you're hearing voices? It could be luring you to it."

"Well what else can we do?" Harry demanded, trying not to show his frustration. "Dumbledore wouldn't lie to me. He wouldn't have told me that the secret to destroying Voldemort lies beyond this door if there wasn't anything here."

The others exchanged wary glances and he knew that it was their hope running out again. Voldemort had so much control over everything that they couldn't even trust those they knew well. If they remained there Voldemort would find them eventually and no doubt he'd kill them all, Harry more painfully than the rest.

"What are we supposed to do with the veil, Harry?" Hermione asked gently, her tone already giving away that she was doubtful about the whole plan now.

Glancing back over his shoulder briefly, Harry gazed at them evenly. "I think I might have to go inside of it."

"HARRY NO!" Hermione shouted, covering her mouth immediately afterward.

They all stood in the dim light holding their breaths as if Death Eaters were going to swarm in at any second. Harry finally let go of his breath and turned back to them.

"Look, I think there's something about it; I mean, Dumbledore must've too. Perhaps the voices aren't lying. It may not be a trick after all," Harry urged.

"Then how do you expect to come out of there alive?" Hermione huffed, crossing her arms indignantly.

The logic was there but Harry didn't want to just give up. If they began to believe they came there for no reason they wouldn't be as confident or careful sneaking out and there would be more of a chance they'd be captured. Pausing to think, Harry stared back at the veil then at them all. Tonks was looking very torn between scared and overwhelmed.

"Maybe if you all use magic to hold the curtain up. I could probably get out then."

"Maybe? Probably?" Hermione emphasized. "Harry, if you don't ever come back out it's over! We _need_ you!" she pleaded desperately, holding back her tears. "You can't just sacrifice yourself!"

"I'm not sacrificing myself!" he retorted. "Look, I can't just sit here, alright? I'm not planning to die!" he exclaimed breathlessly. "But this veil is here for a reason."

"There's no guarantee this will even work!" she shot back.

"She's right, Harry," Ron added with a forlorn expression. "You don't know what the veil really is. It could suck away your soul and you might never come back again. You don't know what it could do."

Harry clenched his jaw and Bill glanced at him worriedly. "Harry, we're just concerned. There's so much risk riding on this because once you do this you can't go back. And they're both right; what if you go in and don't come out? If you're willing to take that chance then we have to be ready with a plan in case that happens."

"Bill! You can't just let him do this!" Hermione cried out, staring at him with wide, petrified eyes.

The older man sighed heavily and shook his head. "We need to agree on something. Otherwise we'll just be sitting here while things get worse outside."

Ron glowered at the floor and Hermione crossed her arms, turning away most likely so that she wouldn't break down in tears. Tonks bit her lip uncertainly, glancing around them. Finally, her eyes locked onto Luna, who had been silent the entire time.

"Luna, what do you think?" she asked shakily.

Blinking dazedly, Luna stood passive for a moment before locking eyes with Harry. "I think he should go in."

"Fine! Go in! Just see if I care!" Hermione shouted stomping away hurriedly as tears leaked out of her eyes.

Tonks sighed and went after her to calm her down. Ron stared at Harry with a partially angry look like he had betrayed them somehow or even like he was trying to take the easy way out.

"You can hold the curtain open," Harry said quietly, feeling his chest constrict at the thought of even peeking behind the veil that had taken his Godfather.

"And if that doesn't work?" Bill asked, since Ron was unable to say anything. "If you don't come out?"

"Give me an hour or so," Harry shrugged nervously. "If I don't come back, go through with the same plan. Get yourselves out of here using my invisibility cloak and Tonks' ability and get back to the sacred area."

"What if it's swarming with Dementors? They'll sense us even through the invisibility cloak," Bill countered.

"You know how to do a Patronus, right?" Harry asked.

"That won't help!" Ron scowled darkly, not even glancing at him. "They'll know they've found us and sooner or later Death Eaters will come and tear it apart piece by piece until they find us. Then what? We all die or get locked away like everyone else? You-Know-Who wins? I mean, without you there's no one to stand up to Voldemort."

"You could try to free Dumbledore from the dungeons and get his help," Harry suggested. "I mean, he's more powerful than I am."

"What if we can't? Or what if they've killed him already, huh!" Ron snapped, gesturing with an arm. "You can't just leave us here, Harry! If you die—"

"That what? It'll be my fault if Voldemort destroys the world!" Harry countered bitterly. "That I'm the only person alive who has the power to defeat him! What if everyone's wrong, Ron? What if I don't have any special powers or I can't figure out a way to defeat him? If I were to come back out of the veil it might not make a difference. You all rely on me so much, but every single person has power! If only people would've been strong enough to stand together they could've outnumbered the Death Eaters! But it's fear that holds everyone back. It can't possibly be up to one person to save an entire world!"

Ron pursed his lips angrily. "That's what the prophecy said."

"It's didn't specify that _I_ would be the one to live! It just said one of us has to die," he gestured with his hands while his eyebrows furrowed in anger.

"There's obviously a reason why you survived, Harry! You trust Dumbledore completely, right? Well, even he said you were destined to fight You-Know-Who in the end and that you had the power to destroy him," Ron countered loudly.

"Yeah, through his weakness that I'm supposed to somehow discover! And Dumbledore said it was in here so the veil must be the answer! So I'm doing the right thing! I'm doing what Dumbledore expects of me! And if I don't make it, it's not because I'm taking the easy way out! It's because I tried!" he snapped out of frustration, feeling like punching Ron in the face.

"Alright you two, enough," Bill said firmly, putting his hand in front of Ron's face to stop him from attacking Harry's comment. "Look, if we're going to do this let's make sure we do this right. We only have one shot. Harry, if you really believe this might be the answer then we obviously can't stop you, but you know the risks."

Clenching his jaw, Harry reluctantly nodded. A part of him knew he was being stubborn and even a part of him thought perhaps Dumbledore was wrong, but he couldn't just give up hope. He had to do something and since the veil was there he was going to take that chance. "You're not going to see him!" Ron snapped.

Harry jerked his head around staring at him with a hardened gaze. "See who?"

"Sirius! You can't save him! If this is some sort of rescue mission, it's suicide!" Ron retorted boldly.

"Just _shut_ _up_ Ron!" Harry angrily replied. "It's not a rescue mission!"

A small part of him knew that was untrue; the thought had crossed his mind that perhaps he would find out what really happened to his Godfather. He was trying to convince his self that it wasn't the main reason he was going in, but perhaps that was the real driving force. Although he was feeling more and more like he was making a terrible decision he had this urge to just peek inside, even for a split second. He knew curiosity wasn't always safe; in fact in his case it was rarely ever safe. And he didn't want to die; he didn't want to leave his friends in a bad position where he couldn't help them. At the same time he wanted to trust Dumbledore. After all, it was his mentor who saved their lives by forcing them out of Hogwarts before Voldemort attacked; it was Dumbledore's last decision before he was captured to have them all saved for a reason.

"Are you doing it?" Bill asked quietly, once Ron had shut his mouth nearly shaking with rage and fear.

Harry stared at him, still with an angry expression and nodded. "Yeah. Just keep the veil open."

Nodding reluctantly, Bill stepped forward and gestured for Ron to do the same. Angrily, Ron pushed his arm away and stepped up, silently fuming and trying not to show how afraid he was. It was obvious that if Harry didn't come back they would probably all fall apart and not have the confidence to escape carefully. They would most likely panic and try and rush out. Apprehensively, Harry glanced at them and took a deep breath.

"If anything goes wrong, make sure you're careful when you leave. Don't rush and don't panic. I know you guys can do it. If you're really desperate, go to the muggle world. It'll save you some time from Voldemort and then maybe you can find stray wizards and families who escaped there. If you can convince them to revolt then it'll help. And if you find any giants who are in hiding too," Harry said as calmly as he could.

Bill nodded and Ron remained silent. Hermione was somewhere in the room probably crying in a corner with Tonks trying to ease her worries. Luna was still passive and staring at Harry with an even gaze, though her eyes seemed to hold fear; he didn't think it was because of his decision though. After all, she had agreed for him to go through, but he wasn't quite sure why she thought he should. As his heart raced in his chest, Harry approached the veil and nodded toward Bill who nudged Ron. The two of them lifted their wands and aimed it at the veil. Spells charged at the veil, lifting it up to reveal nothing; just more blackness behind it. As the veil was being held open, Harry felt a part of him want to turn back and think of a different plan.

"I don't know how long we can keep this open so hurry up," Bill said. "We'll give you an hour."

Feeling rather nauseous, Harry nodded wordlessly and stepped forward while gripping his wand painfully tight in his hand. The veil was raised and his friends were right: there was no guarantee that was going to prevent him from getting sucked into the unknown and never returning. Who even knew if those that went in even died; what if they were just trapped there for all eternity and not able to move on? It frightened him immensely and filled him with a fear that not even Voldemort could cause. Soft footsteps caused him to turn and he saw Hermione, with a tear-streaked face, standing almost behind Tonks.

_Dumbledore, please be right. There's nothing else in this room and unless you lied to me about Voldemort's weakness being here, the veil is the only thing you could've possibly meant. _

Although they couldn't hear it, his heart was pounding furiously and his stomach was churning, but he stepped toward the veil, staring into the blackness. Even as he held up his wand for some light there seemed to be nothing behind it; just a wall covered in shadows, he guessed. It wasn't in the center of the room it was by one of the sides so it was almost touching the wall behind it. Harry assumed what he was looking at behind the veil _was_ the wall, but a part of him wasn't sure. Making sure to not glance at his friends, he took rapid, giant steps never taking his eyes off the wall in front of him.

**XXXXX**

The vast, somber room was nearly bare except for the few pieces of furniture such as the chair in the center of the room; it was a crimson red, very plush and had serpent heads at the end of the arms. There was a cauldron that was brewing in the corner over by a table cluttered with potions and vials of all sorts. The temperature was always cold in the room and often smelled of blood or sweat. It was in that room that a cloaked figure apparated wearing a skull mask. The eyes behind the mask slowly glanced up from where his head was bowed and saw that the red chair was empty. Tilting his head, his eyes caught sight of a pale, stiff body lying on the floor. It was one of the former Ministry members who apparently didn't seem useful to Voldemort, or at least not until after he got what he could from her.

He was suddenly bombarded by a hissing noise and his head jerked as the huge snake that often stood by Voldemort's side slithered into view. It was unclear if it was sniffing him out to see if he wasn't loyal or if it was just hungry. Another hissing voice echoed against the walls and the snake stopped, having approached within two feet of him with her beady yellow eyes gleaming into his. Hearing the other voice made the Death Eater quickly bow his head back down to where it had been, waiting to be addressed. It seemed that Voldemort had been in the room after all or at least close by.

The Death Eater was nervous; after all, ten people had been killed in just the last week. There was no doubt it was because they had failed to locate Harry Potter and the other survivors. Sometimes he was in a bad enough mood where he would just choose random victims, torture them and force them to reveal as much as they knew about certain things. They would only be placed back in the dungeons or back to their slave-labor if he felt they would be useful in the future. Most times after he required what little information they had he would just kill them so as not to worry about them later. The Death Eaters all thought that he could've also been slowly killing those that didn't really do that much or have much use in order to show the other slaves that Harry Potter would not get in his way. He wanted to destroy all their hopes and until he had the boy many more would die.

A soft material dragged across the floor nearby and the Death Eater kept his head bowed. He held back the smile behind his mask, grateful that he was the one to be asked to report back. Bella had been noticeable jealous because she thought herself more important and loyal than all of Voldemort's other servants. It was no mystery why she was often not there unless she had a specific mission; she was out searching for the boy herself because she wanted to be the one to find him and bring him to her Lord. It was sickening the way she tried to suck up to him, even betraying other death eaters to do so; it was just as sickening as Wormtail who unfortunately was still around.

"What do you have to report to me, Jugson?" the tall, almost inhuman figure in front of him hissed.

It was like a hiss, almost as if he was speaking Parseltongue, but he could understand the words coming from his mouth. Swallowing to ease his dry throat, Jugson spoke up.

"My Lord, I have news for you about the prisoner Dumbledore. He has died; all signs indicate it was from old age."

Cold laughter echoed around the room and he heard the material of the cloak dragging again as Voldemort paced. "Old age? That seems unbelievable to me; the great Albus Dumbledore dies at the hands of his own failing body. Perhaps it is because he too has given up on his precious pupil," the malicious voice replied, sounding pleased. "And speaking of the boy, have the Dementors come back with anything?"

"No my Lord," Jugson replied firmly, trying not to sound afraid. "They have searched all the sacred areas you told them to and haven't turned up with anything. We told them to search more carefully though, in case they're hiding underground or in a secret chamber."

He heard a deep inhale and the swish of something nearby told him that Voldemort was hovering above him. Jugson didn't move or make a sound, nor did he let his thoughts betray him. Any even subtle sign of fear would get him killed.

"Let the Dementors know," Voldemort continued after a moment of silence, "that I want them to not only search the sacred areas but other places such as the Order's old hideout and even empty dragon caves. I want every inch of this world searched out!"

"Yes my Lord," Jugson bowed even deeper in respect, inwardly relieved that Voldemort didn't seem upset at him or anyone for the time being.

"Is there anything else?" he hissed once more.

Jugson searched his thoughts, wanting to make sure he told his master everything, even something small and obsolete. If he hid anything, even with the intention that Voldemort wouldn't find it useful, it would cost him his life.

"There is one more small thing, my Lord," he said.

Only silence greeted him so Jugson assumed he was allowed to speak. "Earlier there was a slight disturbance by a Gremlin; it caused a bit of chaos but we managed to kill it."

To his surprise, Voldemort laughed loudly though his laugh hardly seemed like a laugh resulting from a joke. He sounded almost…pleased. Jugson remained still and silent, waiting to be addressed once more.

"A Gremlin?" Voldemort hissed pleasurably. "This is the moment I've been waiting for. I want you to round up every Death Eater here and search out the entire place for Harry Potter."

Jugson caught himself before he asked any questions. "Yes my Lord."

"I want you to search the area where the Gremlin was seen first. Check every level and leave no space unseen."

"Yes my Lord."

"And if you find the boy, don't kill him. You may kill his friends, but leave him alive and bring him to me," Voldemort hissed as his tone held a warning.

"Yes my Lord," Jugson answered again.

He heard Voldemort turn around and bowed deeply before apparating out of the room to report the news to the others. As he sat down in his chair, Voldemort's lips curled into an unpleasant sneer.

"Harry Potter…," he hissed coldly, as his red eyes gleamed hungrily. "Foolish boy," his lips curled wider. "Your mentor didn't teach you very well. Gremlins only live in dark, damp places and rarely ever approach humans or human-made structures. However you got inside my fortress, I will find out. And now I will finally be able to destroy the famous Harry Potter in front of everyone. Too bad the old muggle-loving fool isn't still alive to watch his pupil fall."

The walls echoed with the cold, cruel laughter that followed and nearby Nagini, the large snake, was wrapping her body around the dead female, grateful for a nice meal.

**XXXXX**

Everything seemed to be spinning, though the darkness around him prevented him from making out anything. Swiveling around in every direction, Harry fought to see something. It was as if he had blacked out the moment before he had stepped into the veil for he didn't remember anything happening and suddenly he had blinked and found himself surrounded in darkness.

"Ron? Hermione?" he called out, feeling his throat go dry. Was he inside the veil? Why couldn't he see anything?

The air around him was almost wispy as if he was floating through a fog. The fear of being trapped in the darkness forever consumed him but he fought to keep his fears down. Then he remembered he was holding his wand however when he squeezed his right hand he found it wasn't there. Panic flooded through him and for a moment he had the urge to scream and run until he found his way back. A part of him kept calm and he concentrated on the training he had faced with Dumbledore. Closing his eyes, he took five deep breaths. Dumbledore had told him once during training that if ever he was cast with a spell or curse that impaired his mind and made him delusional or if he was trapped without his wand that a wizard was not helpless in those circumstances. For a delusional curse, he had said one must only think rational thoughts such as remembering addition or theories of magical properties and the curse would wear out. If he was ever separated from his wand, Dumbledore had emphasized, with a gleam, that there was some amount of 'wandless magic'.

What made a wizard a wizard was his belief in his magical abilities. There was a theory about the world that Godric Gryffindor had written that stated he believed that muggles had been magical at one time, but over centuries they had forgotten and soon denied they ever had powers. It was the faith in the magic that brought such power out of the wands; experience and practice helped, but without confidence no matter how many years a wizard practiced they would never achieve greatness. Voldemort was very confident in his powers and just recently Harry had begun trying exercises to have more faith in his. Now was the time to test the wandless magic theory. If he couldn't find his wand, he could concentrate on the magic within him to clear his mind. Although wizards couldn't shoot curses out of their fingertips, the power still flooded through them when it reached their wands. What he had to do was concentrate on his inner powers and try to imagine light, such as the sun.

He thought about it for what felt like a long while. Feeling a bit apprehensive about opening his eyes, he hesitated before finally opening an eye. He couldn't stop the gasp that came from his mouth when he realized he was no longer in darkness, but rather floating in mid air above a small village. To his shock, he was suddenly dropped and fell to the ground, unharmed. People were bustling about and some of them were dressed in very colorful and strange robes. His feet felt like jelly but he managed to push himself off the ground. The surroundings were foreign to him as were the people; in fact he wondered if he was dreaming or if it was real. What had happened? Was this inside the veil? Even through his confusion, he realized that no one seemed to be looking at him as he passed, which meant there was a high possibility they couldn't see him.

"That must mean this isn't a dream then," Harry said aloud, glancing around.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as several screams rang out in the air. It startled him and caused him to wheel around, seeing a couple women and men running toward him.

"Everyone, run! The Knights of Walpurgis are coming!"

Screams echoed all around and women dragged their children out of the way. Men were suddenly pulling out many Buckbeaks, or rather many Hippogriffs. It was strange seeing so many, especially since Hagrid had told him not many were around anymore. Women and children didn't even need to bow to them as they were lifted up. Some of the younger men went with the women and children and flew away while the rest of the men stayed behind. The men held their wands and other weapons close to them as loud footsteps and yells came. Curses were suddenly flying toward the men and Harry saw a whole group of figures cloaked in black and wearing masks. They weren't wearing the same skull masks he remembered, but there was no doubt they were Death Eaters.

Although there were more men than Death Eaters, Voldemort's servants were ruthless and sly. They hit men from the back and some Death Eaters teamed up to outnumber others. It was a slaughtering except no blood was left, just lifeless bodies from the killing curse. Some of the men tried to run away, but they were caught. No one escaped with their lives and when everyone had been killed the Death Eaters cheered victoriously and shot the Dark Mark high in the sky. Harry had instinctively hidden behind a burnt building even though he was certain they couldn't see him. Several of the Death Eaters took off their masks and Harry recognized a few. One of them was a younger Lucius Malfoy, another was a man who looked similar to Sirius, which meant it was possible it was his brother (who had later been killed by Voldemort, Harry remembered). The last man he recognized went by the name Avery; he remembered that from his fourth year when Voldemort summoned him to the graveyard.

"Where are the others?" Lucius asked nervously. "Our Lord won't be pleased if we don't find and kill all those in the Order."

"I know!" Avery responded gruffly. "He especially wants Albus Dumbledore."

"And he wants all the families involved like the Longbottoms or the Potters."

Harry held in his surprise and watched closely, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Yes well, we'll track them down somehow. Come on!" Avery yelled, putting his mask down again.

As the Death Eaters shouted and apparated away, Harry felt a sense of déjà vu. It was very familiar being there but not being seen.

"It's like the time I went into Dumbledore's pensive," he murmured aloud.

A pensive was full of memories, Harry knew, and when he had fallen inside he could see everything from his perspective and watch everyone else but he wasn't allowed to interact. The same thing was happening to him again, but he knew he hadn't stuck his head in a pensive. Though he was quite certain it was the past. For one thing, Sirius' brother was killed a long time ago by Voldemort or Death Eaters and if Harry saw him that meant he was somewhere in the past, perhaps twenty years or more prior to the present. And if he had actually stepped into the veil, it meant…

Harry's eyes widened considerably and he stopped in the middle of the roughly paved street. "Wait…so if I _am_ in the veil then perhaps this is a memory from one of the victims that fell inside. But, I don't understand…why would the veil steal their memories? And how does it keep them inside?"

A thought suddenly occurred to him; if the veil did steal everyone's memories then that meant Sirius' memory was somewhere inside there. Shaking his head firmly, he knew that would do no good. Seeing Sirius' memory wouldn't tell him anything; in fact, now he wasn't sure the veil could even help him. Maybe his friends had been right all along and that it was just suicide to go inside. Perhaps the original thing behind the door had been moved long ago by the Ministry or something. Sighing heavily, Harry was about to sit down and think when he realized the surroundings were blurring together, as if disappearing. He was swallowed up with it and a second later he was watching another scene—it was with the Death Eaters again as they burned yet another village down, torturing those they wished and trying to get information on the order. He saw Avery again as his mask was pulled off. As buildings were being burned, Harry remained in his spot. People ran past him and through him and he didn't even flinch.

"Whose memory is this?" Harry wondered aloud. "It has to be one of the Death Eaters. But…that means that one of them is in the veil."

Thinking hard, Harry tried to picture which Death Eater had been captured. Lucius Malfoy had been captured but he was sent to Azkaban, though most Death Eaters escaped when Voldemort destroyed the Ministry.

"Avery…," Harry whispered aloud. "That name…wait, there were _two_ Avery's: A younger one, who went to school with Snape, and an older one. If I remember correctly Hermione had read in the Daily Prophet, right before Rita Skeeter disappeared, that one of Voldemort's followers named Avery had been sentenced to death by Fudge. Did Fudge have him thrown behind the veil?"

Glancing around, he realized his surroundings had changed again and he was now inside a home. The man he had seen before, named Avery, was pacing around by himself. It was definitely Avery's memory. Was it possible Dumbledore knew something about the veil? Had he known it contained the memories of its victims? If so, perhaps there was a memory that Dumbledore wanted him to see; maybe that's what he meant by finding Voldemort's weakness.

Harry's head shot up instantly. "Avery! He was one of Voldemort's very first Death Eaters! He went to school with him when he was still Tom Riddle!"

All of a sudden, his head began to spin. That meant that Avery could have memories of Tom Riddle becoming Lord Voldemort. Perhaps there was something inside of Avery's memories that would help him find Voldemort's weakness. It was certainly worth a shot though he wasn't sure he could control which memory came next. Somehow he needed to go back much further in time to when Tom Riddle first came to Hogwarts. He wasn't sure if there was a way that he could control which memory he went into, but if it was like a pensive perhaps he could concentrate on the memory he wanted.

Shutting his eyes once more, he tried to imagine what spell he would use if he did have his wand. Not being able to think of one, he imagined a Time Turner, turning back 39 years. In a pensive all he would have to do was pick out a memory strand, but without that all he could do was hope the veil would be affected by his thoughts. When he opened his eyes he felt disappointment. He was still watching Avery pace, looking very concerned. So instead he pictured his wand in his mind and imagined summoning a Time Turner. Dumbledore had taught him how to meditate and erase all thoughts or most thoughts. He had told him trusting his power was very important so now he was concentrating on trusting his power. His eyebrows furrowed as he concentrated with all his might; he wished for a memory of when Tom Riddle first came to Hogwarts. He opened his eyes again, but the same result happened.

Clenching his jaw out of irritation, Harry thought hard about what he could do. It was Avery's memory and it was probable that all of the memories just repeated over and over. Did that mean that Avery's soul was thinking about them? Was Avery's soul even still inside the veil? Pursing his lips in thought, an idea suddenly struck him. Although Avery couldn't see him, perhaps if he concentrated hard enough his voice could be heard or at least his thoughts. First, he approached the man and waited for him to stand still then he leaned up by his ear.

"Remember Tom Riddle's first day at Hogwarts," he said, chanting the same thing in his mind.

The man just stared out into space, seemingly oblivious to Harry's almost ghostly form beside him. Harry reached out a hand and placed it on the man's shoulder; it didn't go through his arm this time. Curiously, Harry wondered why and pulled his arm away.

"Shit!" he hissed suddenly as panic caused his throat to constrict.

His hand was appearing frothy, as if there was a fog surrounded it. Perhaps that meant that the veil was beginning to absorb him. If he disappeared entirely all that would be left would be his memories. Taking a couple deep breaths, Harry waited for Avery to stand still again after he started pacing and then reached out a hand and touched his shoulder. Although he couldn't feel the contact he could see his hand was upon the image of Avery so he bent down and whispered again, only louder:

"Remember Tom Riddle's first day of Hogwarts!"

His voice was more desperate and filled with determination. The hand by his side was clenched in both fear and anxiety. Avery glanced up at the ceiling with his eyebrows furrowed deep in thought. He then shook his head and began pacing again. Harry felt extremely angry and scared at the same time. If he couldn't get this to work then not only would he not see what might help him but he'd be trapped there forever. Anxiety flooded through his mind and in desperation Harry ran forward toward Avery, wanting to push the man off his feet or scare him into the memory.

"REMEMBER TOM RIDDLE'S FIRST DAY AT HOGWARTS!" Harry shouted, getting ready to collide.

He slipped right into him and suddenly he felt something tug inside his body, like he had a creature caught beneath his skin. A gust of air blew over him and he felt his self falling. When he hit the ground, he glanced up and saw that he was now inside Hogwarts. Jumping up, Harry stared around at the seats of the Great Hall. His heart nearly stopped when he saw a much younger Avery sitting at the Slytherin table looking quite bored. Hope and pride filled him, replacing the anxiety as he realized it must've worked! However, he didn't see a boy looking like Tom Riddle anywhere. Now standing behind Avery, Harry searched with his eyes, wondering if perhaps he hadn't said the thought clear enough. His eyes caught sight of Dumbledore sitting with the rest of the teachers. Headmaster Dippit stood up and approached the podium, clearing his throat loudly so the whispers of the students would stop.

"Students of all ages," he began, lifting his arms in the air. "Today starts yet another year at Hogwarts. Once again we are welcoming a new batch of students so please make them feel at home."

Gesturing with his hand, an elderly woman then opened the doors to the Great Hall. Nervous and excited students entered in a straight line, being led up toward the front by a gruffy-looking man. There were so many of them that Harry couldn't make out every face. They all crowded around down in front of the headmaster and the elderly woman carried out the familiar sorting hat.

"Welcome first year students," Headmaster Dippit gestured with his arms out to them. "Today you will be chosen into one of the four great houses that make up this school: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Throughout your years here you will learn many different types of magic and how to fare in the wizard world, for those of you who are muggle born."

Harry glanced at the Slytherin table but none of them reacted to that. Even though all Slytherins starting from Salazar his self looked down on half muggles and muggle-borns, there seemed to be less outward hostility compared to when he was in school. It was most likely Voldemort's fault for causing a rise in the Slytherins and making them outwardly act against everyone else, especially muggles.

"Now it is time for the sorting!" he announced, smiling at the elderly woman who summoned a list of all the names.

Many of the students gasped as they saw magic for the first time. The sorting hat began his chant, entertaining the new comers. As he waited impatiently to see what time he was in, he glanced down at his arm to see the strange fog had begun to spread. Now most of his left arm was covered in it and seemingly transparent. If the veil absorbed any more of him, it could start to play out his memories instead.

"And now, Miley Carrows," she called out.

A young girl stepped forward, looking quite proud of herself and sat down. Seconds later the sorting hat shouted Slytherin and the girl smirked as she went over to the table. Soft cheers rang out at the Slytherin table and the rest of the houses clapped as well. The elderly woman began announcing more names and Harry was feeling more and more impatient.

"Tom Riddle."

Harry's head jerked in surprise as he saw a slim boy with black hair, like his own only more tame, approach the seat. Watching curiously he saw the woman lift up the hat. It was faster than even Draco Malfoy's had been where the hat had just barely brushed up against his head. The sorting hat was still inches away from its head when it shouted "SLYTHERIN!"

The elderly woman jumped startled, dropping the sorting hat (which muffled an "Oof!"). The whole room was silent and Tom just calmly walked over to the Slytherin table and sat down unfazed. It was obviously unheard of for the sorting hat to not even reach a student's head. Most likely it made the teachers a bit nervous wondering how much magical energy he was emitting. However, the name calling started up once more and Harry watched as Tom sat passively at the table, not even looking at any of the boys and girls. Avery, however, was staring at him with interest. Harry wasn't very interested in the memory; he needed something a bit farther, like his fifth year.

Reaching down toward Avery, he placed his hands on him and thought hard about Tom Riddle's fifth year. Nothing happened as the tables filled with delicious plates of food. Tom took very little and ate in silence not even appearing like he wanted to make friends. Harry noticed that they did look a lot alike; he noticed it much more when he was closer. At eleven years old they looked strikingly similar. Tom had short black hair that framed his longer face nicely. It was neatly combed and his short bangs fell neatly to one side. His eyes were a rare green, just like Harry's though he noticed they were a darker green than his. From far away, they almost appeared black; but they were forest green up close while Harry's were a light, almost grass-green. Although he was definitely taller than Harry was at that age, with a longer more sophisticated face, it was shocking how similar they seemed.

Shaking his head of the thoughts, he stared down at Avery once more and concentrated so hard on Riddle's fifth year. He noticed that his right hand was now appearing frothy and he took several steps backward again. Becoming desperate, he ran at him in his seat and flung himself straight through him again, chanting the thought in his mind. Instead of a slow transition, the entire scene appeared to blink off and suddenly Harry was staring at the Slytherin portrait. Footsteps alerted him and he turned to see Avery approaching it, muttering what sounded like "Devil's Snare" and walked through. Harry followed quickly behind him into the Slytherin common room. It must've been fairly late for it was completely silent except for the fire softly flickering by the couches.

As he came more into the room, he noticed Tom Riddle was much older now and seated on a couch with many books piled around him. It was almost like staring at a male form of Hermione. He had to admit that Tom Riddle was fairly handsome; there was no doubt that girls, even someone like Hermione, probably tried to get his attention. He still had a long, thinly framed face with high cheekbones but his face appeared much wiser and his eyes somehow stood out even more than before. He felt a twinge of jealousy toward the young boy; he had an amazing intellect, he could charm anyone he wanted (as he admitted as his sixteen year old memory to Harry in the Chamber of Secrets), had great looks and was incredibly powerful. The only flaw was that he apparently went insane at some point during his years there and decided to take over the world.

Tom Riddle glanced up from the book he was immersed in and Harry felt like a bolt had struck him. Although he wasn't staring at him and was staring at Avery instead, it certainly felt like he was.

"Hey Tom, still studying are you?" Avery smirked. "Trying to pass Dumbledore's exam? You know he'll make it more challenging just for you."

"Perhaps," Tom said passively. "Back from detention so soon?"

Avery shrugged. "The old hag was getting sick of spending time with me, I guess. Anyway, what are you studying? I mean, every minute you seem to be studying. Are you just trying to be a suck-up or discover a new power?" he teased mockingly.

Tom didn't seem fazed at all; he stared at him with a cool look and then closed the book. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to breathe a word of it to anyone, not even aloud when you're alone. Is that clear?"

Avery raised his eyebrows, smirking. "Got something to hide Tom?"

Tom's eyes narrowed coldly. "You want to know so bad, I'll tell you but only if you keep your mouth shut."

Harry leaned in closer as if afraid he'd miss something and watched as Avery perched himself across from Tom.

"Alright," he said crossing his arms, "what is it?"

Opening a book, Tom slid it over to him. "Have you ever heard of the wizard Maulin Buxby?"

Glancing at the picture on the page of the book Avery shrugged. "Nah, why?"

"He is a descendant of Salazar Slytherin; his great, great, great grandmother was Salazar's sister."

"No way," Avery said, seemingly surprised. His cold, smirking front had disappeared and morphed into curiosity and wonder.

Tom didn't even nod or comment on his surprise, he just continued. "Buxby was in search of immortality. He believed that achieving immortality would give him the power to do anything, even bring Salazar back to life."

"No body can be brought back from the dead, unless they're Inferi," Avery commented, referring to walking corpses or zombies.

"True and although Buxby's theories hold much error, there is one thing he was onto. He started taking notes on souls. He watched how a Dementor sucked the soul from a murderer years before and he said he believed that the reason why Dementors are immortal and never die is because they live on souls. His notes stated that he believed that the soul was what could achieve immortality," Tom explained, his eyes alight with an intensity Harry couldn't place.

Avery stared back at him smiling and shaking his head. "What are you saying Tom? That you're trying to continue his work and find immortality? There's like a one in a zillion chance you'll ever accomplish that."

"Maybe, but I think he was onto something," Tom continued. "In fact, I've been doing experiments myself," he said, glancing around the room as if he was afraid someone was listening. "I think I know a way to copy my soul, in a way, or rather project my soul into something."

Harry's eyes widened in response. Was it possible he was referring to his diary?

Avery laughed aloud. "Tom, you sound insane, you know? What do you mean copying your soul? How is that possible?"

"It is," Tom said firmly, not affected by his criticizing. "I've been reading up on his notes and he mentions something only once: Horcruxes."

"What's that?" Avery asked.

Tom shook his head. "I'm not sure, but he writes about it saying that it's the key to immortality. That's all that he says. In my experiments though, I've been able to actually astral project."

"Which means…?" Avery urged.

"I can basically be in two places at once, though when I astral project my true body is in a meditating trance."

Smirking once more, Avery shook his head in disbelief. Tom, seemingly unfazed but wanting someone to share his discover with, closed his eyes. Seconds later a wispy form of him was standing right by the couch. Avery jumped, stumbling backward in shock and stared at both Toms. When the image vanished, Tom opened his eyes and Avery was now staring at him wide-eyed. It was a fear that was in his eyes, but amazement and wonder.

"Tom, how did you…?"

"I've been working for a long time. Most people who know how to do that are sorcerers and they use it to fool their enemies, however I believe that it's the same way to create immortality or Horcruxes, as Buxby called them. If I could find a way to separate my soul from my body, but continue to function, I might be able to discover immortality."

"But how can you find ways to do it? And how can you experiment with the headmaster around? It's illegal to do things like that, I'm sure…," Avery whispered quietly.

"I know," Tom said in a low tone. "That's why I might need your help, to distract the headmaster or Dumbledore at times. I'm certain that Dumbledore doesn't trust me from how he's been appearing near me when I least want him there. I even found this hidden room in the castle; it's a room that appears on desire," he said, referring to the Room of Requirement.

Avery nodded, deeply intrigued. "Alright, I'll help you Tom."

Smiling widely, Tom nodded. "Good. And you mustn't tell this to anyone."

Shaking his head, Avery agreed. "I won't, promise. Are you going to ever tell anyone else?"

Tom shrugged nonchalantly. "There may be others. I've been thinking…Eventually I want to change my name to something less muggle and I was hoping to form some sort of group or alliance."

"What sort of group?" Avery asked curiously.

"Something that muggles would fear and even the Minister of magic himself would be intimidated by," Tom smiled eerily. "And if I had others by my side it would make it easier. I was thinking about calling them the Knights of Walpurgis."

"Catchy," he grinned.

"Yes, but I'm not certain yet. First, I must figure out more about these Horcruxes and immortality. If I figure it out, would you be willing to join me faithfully by my side?"

"Sure," Avery smirked. "It sounds fun. Just out of curiosity though, if you did separate your soul from your body successfully how would that gain immortality?"

"Theoretically, if I can actually split my soul into pieces and keep them somewhere safe, if someone wanted to kill me they'd have to find each piece of my soul. Without my soul intact in my body, I'm assuming that if they shot the killing curse at me I wouldn't die, which would technically make me immortal."

"Sounds awesome," Avery grinned in excitement. "I'll help any way I can. Oh, what happens if someone destroys the pieces of your soul?"

Tom shrugged. "I suppose then it would be easier to kill me, but I imagine if I hide them well enough they wouldn't be able to."

"You mean like hide them inside of someone else?"

"I'm not sure that would work. To hide my soul in something that already has a soul would be very tricky. Not to mention even figuring out how to split my soul would be tough enough, but I'm certain it's possible. When I graduate I'll have to leave here and go to places where I can get information that isn't given to us in schools," Tom explained, his eyes gleaming intensely. "And then if my group of followers becomes an army, we could probably overrun the Ministry entirely."

"Such wicked thoughts, Tom," Avery said, although he was smiling widely.

Smirking in response, Tom then closed the book he had shown him. "I suppose it's time for bed. I can wake up before everyone else and sneak into the library for more studying before breakfast. Until then, remember what I told you about not telling anyone."

"You can trust me," Avery sneered. "By the way, what are you thinking of changing your name to?"

"I was thinking of an anagram. I've come up with Lord Voldemort."

"Lord Voldemort? Wow, you've been really thinking hard. What does the Lord stand for?" Avery laughed.

"It represents superiority," Tom said passively.

Avery grinned. "You know, for being such a quiet boy you really have some loud thoughts there."

Tom smiled faintly at that and packed up the rest of his books. Harry watched as they began heading up the stairs. Suddenly the scene began to fade and a new image appeared—one that was awfully familiar. It was at Hogwarts only instead of Tom Riddle and Avery there was a familiar group of people. A red-haired boy, a bushy-haired girl and an awkward eleven-year-old Harry Potter trying to get Neville's ball back from Malfoy.

"NO!" Harry shouted, glancing down to see his legs now looked as frothy as his arms; he was turning transparent. "I WON'T LET YOU HAVE MY MEMORIES!" he roared angrily.

Shutting his eyes tightly and shaking with rage and fear, Harry concentrated on Avery and Tom Riddle. He found it was much harder to think of them now; his own memories were flashing before his eyes. Desperately, he pictured Tom Riddle's face up close and opened his eyes again. Unfortunately, the memory wasn't fading. He had already spent too much time inside the veil; it was time to get out, but how was he to get out? Which way was the way he came from?

"Ron! Hermione!" Harry shouted, as he saw himself on a broom whipping past Malfoy to catch Neville's remembrall.

It was no use; they wouldn't be able to hear him. He would be trapped in there forever, just like Sirius. He felt panic-striken and gazed at his body to see his stomach was beginning to disappear now. Desperately, Harry concentrated on finding the exit but he felt weaker than before; he felt like he couldn't concentrate at all.

"Luna…Luna can hear the voices too, maybe she could hear me!" he thought aloud. "LUNA! LUNA HELP! It's Harry!" he shouted loudly as the scene changed. "Luna! Tell Ron and Hermione to shine their lights and create sparks so I can get out! LUNA!"

He swiveled all around but nothing was happening. Already his body was rapidly becoming transparent; he didn't have much time left at all. Maybe it wasn't possible to escape the veil. Perhaps he would die in there; vanish without a trace. Shaking from fear, Harry tried his best to imagine his wand. All that came to him were flashes of memories that began appearing right before his eyes.

Suddenly the sky exploded with light and Harry gazed upward. Feeling hope rise within him, he stared at the sky and tried to will himself to get closer. Ignoring the flashes of memories around him, he concentrated only on the spot in the sky.

_I want to get to it! I WANT TO GET TO IT!_

Harry reached out a hand and concentrated on it, begging it to come closer. He felt tired all of a sudden and he wanted to go to sleep. It was obvious that the veil didn't want him to leave. He couldn't give up; he couldn't let it have him. He wouldn't…he wouldn't die like Sirius!

"NO!" Harry screamed, stretching his arm out until his muscles burned.

Very slowly his body began floating upward. As he approached the sky, a sudden force tried to pull him back down. He felt like he was trying to swim past a strong current of water, but he didn't give up. He kept thinking about Sirius and how he had fallen victim to the veil; he pictured his friends waiting above for him and he pictured Dumbledore as well. Keeping his arm stretched out, he reached for the sparks that were still a distance away. His vision was blurring and he felt so exhausted; he reached out as his eyelids began to feel droopy. Voices were suddenly all around him, smothering him and shouting so loud he thought he'd go deaf. And then everything went black as he felt the last of his strength leave him.

Minutes went by and he thought he had surely died. Groggily he opened his eyes to see faces above him. His eyes shot open and he jumped up, nearly bonking heads with Ron.

"Oh, Harry, thank God you're alright!" Hermione cried, squeezing him tightly. "We weren't sure you'd make it."

"Harry, how did you do that?" Ron asked, awed. "You just appeared out of thin air."

"I don't know," he said, his voice sounding hoarse. "How long have I been in there?"

"Almost over an hour; we were getting worried," Bill said, glancing down at him. "How are you feeling?"

Sighing, Harry rubbed his eyes. "A little disoriented, but I'm…I'm back, right?"

"Of course you're back! You must be the first person to ever come out of the veil alive, Harry! It's a miracle!" Ron exclaimed breathlessly.

Harry shakily stood up and nearly toppled over. "I don't know how I survived. I don't understand…I mean, it was all memories…just memories. How did Sirius get trapped there? Why didn't he do the same thing I did?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged sad expressions and Harry clenched his fists in anger. Why had Sirius gotten trapped there? Why did it have to be him?

"Harry, what did you see in the veil?" Tonks asked sounding almost excited.

"Memories…all the veil had were the memories of its victims. And…I saw Voldemort! I saw him when he was younger; I know how he achieved immortality now, but…"

"But what?" Ron asked urgently.

"But I don't understand. If Voldemort created Horcruxes to hide bits of his soul, how would I be able to find and destroy them? It could take years," Harry said aloud, stepping farther away from the veil to make sure he didn't actually fall in.

They all exchanged glances and Harry knew what they were thinking. It was possible seeing that memory may have been in vein. Without knowing background on Horcruxes or knowing where Voldemort would store pieces of his soul, he didn't see how it would help him. Suddenly, he remembered something that Avery had asked Tom about the Horcruxes, about having a soul inside of someone else. It hit him like a bludger; the reason why he had had to go inside and see the memory…now it all made sense.

"Harry?" Hermione questioned softly. "Are you alright?"

"Don't worry…I'm sure we can try your other plan and free Dumbledore," Bill suggested, although he sounded a bit doubtful.

Harry shook his head. "I understand…I understand now why I felt the need to go inside of it. I did need to see that memory; Dumbledore must've known…but how did he know?"

"Know what?" Ron asked curiously.

Lifting his head slowly to face his friends he licked his dry lips. "I think…I think a piece of Voldemort's soul is inside me. I think I'm one of his Horcruxes."

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

To Reviewers: 

**Padfoot13:** Thank you so much! You must hate me for taking almost a year to update this. I guess I just put it aside when I began other stories. Anyway, there's only a couple more chapters left so I hope to finish it by the end of May, that's my goal. I can't guarantee anything, but I will update asap!

**Mystic Light: **I'm so sorry to make you believe the story was dead. I know I took FOREVER to update! I'm REALLY sorry. I shouldn't have posted the story until I had most of the chapters written out. Anyway, I do plan to finish this by the end of May, hopefully! Thanks so much for your review, I'm sorry it's been so long!


	3. A Daring Rescue

**Behind the Veil**

**Chapter 2: A Daring Rescue**

It felt like minutes had gone by like seconds; time suddenly seemed to freeze and his lungs constricted. For a minute they all remained in silence, standing in the darkened room as still as stone. And then Ron broke the silence.

"What's a Horcrux mean?"

Hermione glanced at him irritably. "Where were you these past few minutes? Didn't you hear what Harry said? The Dark Lord split his soul into pieces in order to gain immortality. Harry's saying that a piece of the Dark Lord's soul resides inside him."

"Okay…yeah, I heard that part," Ron retorted in annoyance. "I'm not deaf. What does that mean though?"

All eyes turned to Harry and even Hermione looked a bit baffled. He knew they were all waiting for a response—a speech perhaps to tell them it was the answer they were looking for. There was no way he would be able to tell them that the only way now, he thought, to defeat Voldemort was for him to die. In theory, however, it would only work if Harry was Voldemort's last Horcrux. If all the Horcruxes were destroyed before Voldemort had a chance to split his soul again and find a place to hide it, then it was very possible Voldemort would lose his immortality. However, that didn't mean he would necessarily die. And if Harry died and Voldemort lost his immortality, who would finish the job?

_And what about his other Horcruxes?_ _What if he made tons of them? I wouldn't know where to start looking or how many I'd have to find. And how would I even track them down? This is impossible! Why would Dumbledore send me here to find this out if I can't do anything? _

"Harry?" Bill asked nervously.

"I don't know what to do!" he exclaimed in frustration, banging a fist against the nearest wall. "Let's just get out of here before we're caught."

"Even if we do go back, Harry, it won't be long till we're found," Hermione said, glancing around nervously.

Ron shook his head. "Maybe, but Ginny and Professor Trelawney are waiting for us. They'll think we're dead or something if we don't get back soon."

"You guys get out of here," Harry said firmly.

All eyes went upon him at once. Hermione shook her head in disbelief. "No! Harry, what are you going to do? You have to come with us!"

"Hermione, I have to find out about these Horcruxes. If I can find Voldemort's room, there might be some information or at least a clue. If I go back with you, I won't have any way of gaining the knowledge to destroy Voldemort. And if he's not destroyed or weakened soon, we could all parish," he said honestly, glancing in the dim light at all the frightened faces (except for Luna's which remained blank). "Look, I'll be fine. As long as I know you guys are safe for the time being I can sneak past the Death Eaters. You all need to go back to Ginny and Professor Trelawney."

"Won't the Dementors be able to sniff us out?" Ron choked out.

Harry nodded. "Eventually, yes. However, Voldemort will be too busy trying to find me."

"Wait…what do you mean?" Tonks whispered in confusion.

Sighing, he glanced at her. "I mean that I'm going to try and keep Voldemort away from you guys. He wants me more than anyone and if he finds out I'm no longer with you, then he won't come after you."

"But Harry, if you try to fight in this alone you could lose!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I know, but I need you guys to find a way to get to the muggle world. You'll be safer there because Voldemort hasn't started his conquest over it. Now that he has the wizard world in his control he's going to get up an army to take over the muggle world. For now though, the muggle world is safer than here. And you all might be able to find stray wizards and witches there. If we're all caught there might not be any hope. Better just me than all of us."

"Harry, we've been over this. Even if we find others there, it will hardly be enough to face the Dark Lord's army!" Hermione exclaimed, as Bill and Ron nodded in agreement.

"And how will we get to the muggle world safely?" Tonks asked.

This time, Harry looked firmly over at Luna, who blinked curiously. "Luna, since you can see Thestrals there may be some hiding out in the sanctuary that we left. They fly much faster than any other creature with wings. And they can see perfectly in the dark. They'll be able to get all of you to the muggle world. And as long as you make sure to cloak yourselves in dark clothes or even with an invisibility charm I believe you'll go undetected. And like I said, Voldemort will much rather be looking for me. I'm going to steer them in the wrong direction again. I can make some Death Eaters see my astral projection in the opposite direction you'll be traveling."

"Wait, Thestrals are carnivorous aren't they?" Ron asked shakily, glancing with wide eyes at him.

"Yes, but we've flown on them before," Hermione responded quietly. "Harry…there's no way to keep in touch with you. How will we know you didn't get caught?"

Harry stopped to think for a minute. Glancing around while he thought, his eyes landed on the veil again. The moment Sirius entered his mind something clicked.

"A two-way mirror!" Harry exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "Tonks, you can summon them, can't you? The Ministry and Order members used to keep in contact this way, I know!"

Nodding, Tonks closed her eyes and waved her wand, summoning the magical mirror—the same mirror that Sirius had given him a while back that he never used. Biting his lip to keep from remembering that painful experience and how angry at his self he felt, Harry reached out and took one of the mirrors.

"I can keep in touch with you guys this way. You should wait until you get to the muggle world to use them in case the Dementors sense the magic. And definitely don't use your wands when you're riding the Thestrals."

"What if there aren't any? Or what if they're hiding and don't want to be found?" Hermione asked quickly.

Harry took in a deep breath. "Then try and lure them out with meat, just like Hagrid did. Otherwise, if you really can't get to the muggle world then stay hidden in the underwater cave and I'll try and keep them away from you. Let me know if you get to the muggle world though."

"Oh Harry!" Hermione sobbed, throwing her arms around him.

Awkwardly, he tried to comfort her by rubbing her back. "It'll be fine, Hermione, I promise."

"You don't know that," Ron said bitterly, trying his best not to show his own tears.

"Why can't you come with us to the muggle world?" Bill asked.

"Because it wouldn't do any good. If I can't figure out a way to destroy Voldemort he'll find all of us there eventually and kill us along with every muggle," Harry explained, as Hermione pulled away. "And I'm certain Voldemort wouldn't hide any of his Horcruxes in the muggle world. If destroying them is the only way to weaken his power then I have to do it. Look, we can't argue any more. You've got to leave in case a Death Eater starts searching around. And take my invisibility cloak with you."

"But you need it!" Hermione exclaimed.

"You need it more than I do! You're all trying to escape at once! Don't worry about me. Come on, we're wasting time!" Harry urged.

Hermione opened her mouth, but he silenced her with a look. They all hurriedly began heading back toward the door. With ease, Harry opened it and peered out. Once he was certain there was no Death Eater lurking around, he motioned for them to follow. They headed back through the first door they came in from and Harry threw Bill his invisibility cloak.

"Tonks, can you appear as a Death Eater with a mask on? That way we won't make a mistake of having you pose as a specific Death Eater in case that gets too suspicious."

"I'll try," she said.

Slowly, her body morphed into the familiar black cloak she had on earlier. It was obvious she was having trouble with the mask, but Harry described its appearance and she managed to get it fairly accurate.

"Okay, go! And remember to go out that underground passage!" Harry hissed quietly.

The rest of them were beneath the invisibility cloak. He watched Tonks wobble toward the doorway to lead them out. His breath stopped in his throat when voices approached and soon Death Eaters were in view. Harry threw his self against the nearest wall and held his breath, listening.

"You there!" one of them barked. "Have you just come from that room?"

"Y-yes, I have," Tonks answered, in the practiced deep voice.

"Did you see anyone?"

"No, not anyone," she answered.

"Master is suspicious that the Potter boy is somewhere in here," another commented. "Who are you?"

Harry shut his eyes, praying that he wouldn't have to jump out of his hiding place to save his friends. Tonks seemed just as nervous about the question since she hesitated, but when she spoke a few seconds later she sounded more confident.

"Listen, I have a job to do. I didn't see anyone in there, but go ahead and check again."

The Death Eaters didn't answer right away and he heard one of them shuffle. He wasn't sure they were buying it. Not only that, but if they brushed up against his friends who were invisible they'd know for sure she was a fake. He did the only thing he could think of. Raising his wand, he shot a loud noise-maker curse at the opposite end of the room. The sizzling sound echoed and the Death Eaters finally spoke.

"What was that?"

"Someone might be in there!" another exclaimed.

"Are you sure you didn't see anyone?" one barked.

"I'm sure," Tonks responded evenly. "Please, my lord will be angry with me if I don't get it done."

The Death Eaters finally seemed to buy it after she said "my lord" for one of them said: "Very well! Doholov, come on let's check this room!"

Harry let out the breath he had been holding as the Death Eaters apparently walked around from Tonks. His friends were safe for the time being, but he couldn't follow them to make sure they left safely. And now the Death Eaters were approaching the room he was in. Without his invisibility cloak, he was vulnerable. Three Death Eaters entered the room and Harry quietly shimmied along the wall to further the distance between them.

"Let's summon lights! It's too dark!" Dolohov barked angrily.

Harry froze in fear; if they shined light in the room, they would definitely see him. Glancing around in panic, he spotted a piece of rubble nearby and quietly tip-toed over to it. While the Death Eaters were summoning lights, he transfigured the rock into a Nargle (a small creature that loved to infest Mistletoe). He gently kicked it forward and it let out a small yelping sound, which oddly sounded like a Knome gurgling. One of the Death Eaters shone their light on it and it scampered away from it.

"What the hell is that?" one of them hissed.

"It probably made that sound," Dolohov responded irritably. "Figures such a damp and cold place would be infested with creatures."

"What are you talking about? It's the first creature we've seen. Except for that—"

"Wait!" Dolohov hissed, shining his wand around. "Mackley said master was suspicious when he spoke of a Gremlin. Perhaps Potter is here and he's unleashing these creatures to throw us off!"

Harry held his breath. Why did some of Voldemort's Death Eaters have to be smart? Nervously, he glanced around and an idea struck him. Taking out his wand, he put it beneath his robe so that it couldn't be seen and muttered something quietly. His hands began to tingle even as the three Death Eaters spread out and began shining light all around the room. Slowly, he touched a hand to the wall and was amazed when it stuck to it. Bringing up his other hand, he stuck that to the wall and very carefully began to climb upward. Thankfully, the ceiling was tall—tall enough that they probably wouldn't glance all the way up to it. His heart was hammering in his chest, even as one of the Death Eaters began to approach the area he was in. The light shined against the wall and Harry had to tuck his feet up to not get caught by it. Hurriedly, he continued climbing until he had just about reached the top. He glanced downward to see the three smaller Death Eaters searching the whole room.

"I haven't seen anything!" one of them scowled. "Even if Potter is in the fortress, he might not be in this room! We've got the whole damn place to search out!"

"Would Potter really come alone?" another asked. "Weren't there other survivors too?"

"It doesn't matter! This fortress is being searched by every Death Eater here by now," Dolohov smirked. "If there are any intruders they'll be caught and killed, except for Potter! Remember that master wants him alive."

"Yeah, yeah," one of them grumbled. "It'd be easier if we just snatched Potter's wand away and held him still why we killed him. I don't understand why master won't just let us take care of him. Then he'd be out of the way."

"Master wants revenge upon the boy for being such a pain in the ass," Dolohov retorted. "He probably wants to torture him badly before finally killing him. Make sure master doesn't hear those words coming out of your mouth! He might find that you're insulting his ability to defeat the boy!"

"Oh, right," the other responded fearfully. "Let's check this room."

"Don't touch that door!" Dolohov hissed, as the other Death Eater approached the door that had the veil behind it. "It's off limits! Several Death Eaters already died trying to get into that room."

"What if there's a secret weapon behind it?" one of them asked.

"Lucius said that our lord already questioned Dumbledore about the door and found that the only thing behind it was that worthless veil," Dolohov answered. "Now come on! We've got to keep searching!"

The Death Eaters finally began to leave the room and Harry could breathe normally. He wasn't completely relieved for he didn't know if his friends had escaped successfully. As he slowly began to climb back down, he recalled what the Death Eaters had said. He remembered them mentioning Dumbledore being questioned, which meant Voldemort might have left him alive. It was worth a shot to check the dungeons, just in case. Peering around the corner, he saw that the hallway was clear. Unfortunately, he'd have to find a way to become invisible. He knew an invisibility charm, but he wasn't sure how long it'd last.

"What choice do I have?" he whispered in the dark.

With a wave of his wand, he felt his skin prickle before he hurriedly began creeping down the hallway. He had no clue where the dungeons were, but common sense told him it was somewhere on the bottom level. Peering around the next corner, he spotted a Death Eater with his back turned. Carefully, he pressed up against the wall and began shimmying and hoping that the invisibility charm would hold for a while longer. The Death Eater suddenly turned to head back down the hall and Harry's stomach lurched uncomfortably. His heart was pounding and he held his breath. The Death Eater passed by him and he felt the air pass between them as the man's cloak swayed behind him.

He hesitated when he noticed that the hallways branched off. Taking a guess, he went left and soon found himself staring at a group of oncoming Death Eaters, one of them including Bella. Harry plastered his self to the wall and remained still.

"Master is incredibly pissed off that we haven't found him yet!" Bella snapped maliciously. "He's certain the brat's in here somewhere!"

"We're trying but there's no trace of him," another retorted.

They were getting too close for comfort and Harry was certain that one of them would brush up against him. Shouts suddenly came from down the hall and the Death Eaters glanced up.

"They may have found something! Come on!" Bella shouted, hurrying down the hall.

One of the Death Eater's cloaks brushed his arm and he stopped momentarily, looking around with beady eyes. Harry slowly shimmied down the hall, distancing his self from the suspicious Death Eater. His skin began to prickle and suddenly he was filled with panic.

"Come on Nox!" a voice rang out down the hall.

The man wheeled around and hurried after them while Harry slumped against the nearest wall. The invisibility charm, it appeared, only lasted for about ten minutes. He placed it around his self again and then went down the hall. Cursing, he realized he had reached a dead end. He began hurrying the opposite direction and froze when a Death Eater came into view. He pressed up against the wall and held his breath, hoping to be able to slip past him. The Death Eater walked right up to the wall at the end of the hallway. Harry watched him closely as he tapped his wand in three specific areas of the wall. The cement moved apart, creating a doorway and the Death Eater walked through it. Harry waited, watching as it closed. Just to be safe, he waited three minutes before approaching the wall. It reminded him of the time in Diagon Alley when Hagrid first showed him how to get inside. He mimicked what the Death Eater had done and found the doorway opening to a set of stairs leading downward.

It was too dark to see so he had to summon a light from his wand. He moved cautiously down the stairs in case a Death Eater began heading back up. When he reached the bottom he turned off the light and crept into the dimly lit hallway. He glanced around and couldn't see anyone. Turning his face, Harry almost let out a gasp. A Death Eater was leaned up against the wall just outside of the door, obviously guarding that hallway. It had been almost impossible to see him in the dim light since he wore a black cloak. Thankfully, he managed to cover his mouth from the surprise and backed away slowly. Unfortunately, because it was so dark, he didn't see the bottle on the floor until his foot stepped on it. It made a sound against the floor and Harry flailed his arms backward. He just barely managed to grab a hold of the wall as the Death Eater turned his (or her) head. The mask was staring right at him and at first he felt panic when the eyes leveled in his direction. Soon he realized the Death Eater didn't see him, but was staring at the bottle suspiciously. Harry's foot was still on top of the bottle to keep it from rolling (plus he was too afraid to move).

The Death Eater uncrossed his or her arms and began to approach the bottle. Harry's heart hammered in his chest as they came closer. Footsteps approached and Harry's head swiveled to the left to see another Death Eater approaching. In fact, it was a very specific Death Eater. Severus Snape caught sight of the Death Eater and nodded curtly.

"I have checked on the prisoners. Another one has died," he said in a careless tone.

The Death Eater nodded, still fixated on the bottle. Snape glanced at the bottle and Harry froze, hoping that he couldn't see him. Concentrating on what he learned from Occlumency, he forced his mind to think of nothing as he stared at him. Very gently, he lifted his foot off the bottle and took a very slow step backward. The Death Eater grabbed the bottle and looked around.

"Is something wrong?" Snape asked suspiciously.

The Death Eater hesitated then threw the bottle back down. "Rats," he muttered.

Snape glanced around and his eyes roamed over Harry even as he was silently backing away from them. He knew the invisibility charm was going to give in the next couple of minutes and Snape was the last person that he wanted to hand him over to Voldemort. He had thought that Snape was a spy for Voldemort because Dumbledore trusted him so much. Perhaps Dumbledore was getting careless in his old age. Or it could have been that Snape felt he should go back to being Voldemort's servant after Hogwarts fell. He saw Snape wave his wand around, as if to get rid of the "rats" and possibly anything else hiding around. Thankfully, Harry was way out of reach and heading down the damp hallway. He glanced over his shoulder to see Snape climbing up the stairs and out of view. Just as he was out of view, the invisibility charm wore off and Harry had to mutter the charm again.

As he began hurrying down the damp, cold hallway, he could smell blood among other things. When he turned the corner, he froze when his eyes laid on cells all down the hallway. Voldemort must have had at least a hundred cells for prisoners. How was he going to check them all for Dumbledore? He crept past cells and had to plug his nose when he caught of whiff of a couple corpses. They looked as though they had been in there for months. Apparently, Voldemort really didn't care if his prisoners rotted. He stopped just outside of one of the cells and peered into it. There was a skeletal form of a man—he'd definitely been starved. His beard was dirty and messy and his eyes were bloodshot, staring away at an empty space in the wall since he no longer could blink. It was only a few seconds later when Harry realized it was Cornelius Fudge. Obviously, the only use Voldemort had in him was to get as much information as possible then have him rot away in the dungeons.

An unusually sick sensation bombarded him in the pit of his stomach. What if he found more corpses? What if the prisoners he had taken from Hogwarts, along with the Ministry members, had been killed off too? That would include Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, Dumbledore and the other teachers, not to mention any Order members. What if they were all dead? Without the help of a great number of wizards and witches, just like Hermione had said, even if Harry found all the Horcruxes they'd be no match for Voldemort's army. Did Dumbledore actually have a plan in mind where they wouldn't necessarily need an army or had he made a mistake? What if Dumbledore hadn't really had a plan in mind and they were just doomed now?

"Stop thinking like that," Harry whispered aloud.

He stood still, hoping that no one had heard him. Finally, he moved down the hallway toward the other cells. He realized that the ones who were dead, for the most part, were all by one another. For when he walked farther down the hallway toward a different section, he heard coughs and groans. The smell of bad body odor along with other things caused him to wrinkle his nose in disgust. His eyes caught sight of several people sitting together in one of the cells. They looked sickly and starved. Anger coursed through him and without thinking he approached the cell and summoned food. The people saw it and jumped toward it, without even caring it had come from thin air. They chewed and tore the food up like animals.

He went to the next cell and did the same thing. He kept going down until he came to the fifth cell and summoned food. The man with the long, disheveled beard stared at it.

"Who's there?" he replied weakly.

Harry's heart nearly stopped. "Mr. Weasley?"

The droopy, saddened eyes looked around. He slowly pushed his self off the wall just enough to sit up. "H-Harry, is that you?"

Immediately, he waved his wand to get rid of his invisibility. "Harry!"

"Shhh!" Harry urged as he approached the cell. "Mr. Weasley…oh gosh, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"

"I'm alive…for now," he coughed.

"Where's Mrs. Weasley?"

"She's in the cell to my left," he replied, shakily pointing a bony finger. "Harry…what about Ron, Ginny and Bill. Are they…?"

Harry shook his head. "They're safe," he replied, feeling sick at the thought that he wasn't positive about Ron and Bill. "Mr. Weasley, I told them to head to the muggle world where they'd be safe. I need to find a way to get you out of here."

"Harry, don't…," he trailed off to cough again. "The Dark Lord is looking for you. You're in grave danger!"

"Mr. Weasley, we're all in grave danger! Listen to me," Harry knelt down. "I may know a way to stop Voldemort. I have a plan and I might be able to use it to force him to let you go."

Mr. Weasley seemed to find strength enough to pull his body toward him. "What do you mean?" he asked hopefully.

"I mean that I may know something Voldemort wants bad enough that I could get you all out of here. If worse comes to worse I can tell him I'll surrender if only he releases all the prisoners."

"Harry, you mustn't!"

"Listen, it'll be safer for me in his grasp than you. I'm something he wants and I may know a way to defeat him. But he still has a huge army. I need as many people as possible to escape to the muggle world to try and gather stray witches and wizards. That way, when Voldemort does attack the muggle world we'll have some defense against him. Besides, he might release you just so that I can surrender but then he'll send out Death Eaters and Dementors to get you all back. Hopefully, you will all be able to escape to the muggle world. In fact, I bet I could use something of Dudley's. I'm wearing an old shirt of his! Do you think if I gave it to you, and Voldemort does free you, temporarily, would you be able to create a port key that would lead to the muggle world?"

"Yes…I believe that would work since your cousin is a muggle," he replied, nodding. "But what if he doesn't set us free?"

"I think he will. He believes you're all rotting anyway. So he'll think you're too weak to really run. However, I'm giving everyone food," Harry said, pointing at it. "If you all can pretend to still be starved if he sets you free you may be able to fool him long enough to get everyone to the muggle world."

"Oh Harry…I knew you would find a way," he smiled shakily.

Harry nodded quickly, glancing around. "Look, it's not safe for me to not be invisible. I need you to pass the message down to everyone to hide any evidence of food and pretend to still be starved and sick, even if they release you all. Then pass the word that everyone is to stick together so you can escape to the muggle world, alright?"

Mr. Weasley nodded firmly. "Of course, Harry."

"Do you know where they kept Dumbledore?" he asked.

A bony finger pointed down the hallway. "In a separate cell…down there."

"Okay. I'm going to check it out and then I'll come back to pass food around. Remember to hide any evidence if you hear someone coming."

Mr. Weasley nodded once more, covering a sickly cough as Harry became invisible once more and hurried toward the other room. No one was guarding the room, surprisingly. When he approached the cell, however, he figured out why. Dumbledore's lifeless eyes stared past him and Harry felt a twinge of agony. Sure, Dumbledore had kept things from him but he had helped him in many ways. Harry stared at his former mentor sadly and stepped back. Only when something caught his eye did he step closer. Something unusual was on his wrist. It wasn't there before, he was certain. Glancing around, he muttered "alohomora" and stepped into the cell. Despite the bad smell, which wasn't as bad as the others, he carefully knelt down by him and stared at the symbol of a phoenix. Harry's eyebrows furrowed in thought and he hesitantly reached out to touch it. It suddenly vanished and in the palm of Dumbledore's hand appeared a small piece of parchment. Bewildered, Harry picked it up and read it silently:

_Harry,_

_I have no doubt you will find this eventually. I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you everything. I still can't. You will be angry at me for not being honest with you and hiding things, but this is not the time for anger. You must destroy all of Voldemort's Horcruxes. For years I have known about Voldemort's Horcruxes. I have been tracking them down as well. Two of them I have destroyed myself and I'm certain I know what the other three out of four are. You have many questions, I'm sure, but for right now you must take the shrunken vial hidden in my sock. Voldemort's servants used magic on all of the prisoners to search for items or weapons but this can't be detected by mere magic. It's a potion—a highly rare and valuable potion that you must see is kept safe. You will know what to do with it when the time comes. The three of Voldemort's Horcuxes you must destroy are: his family crest, Salazar Slytherin's pendant (passed through his family), and his snake Nagini. The last Horcrux I wasn't able to figure out, but I'm sure you can. Remember…you may not need to destroy them right away; Voldemort will surely want them back at all costs if they are removed. One last thing, my boy, since I know you'll want to save the prisoners. Nagini's venom can burn through steel. Take care._

_Albus_

Harry folded the parchment up and tucked it safely in his robe before he reached down toward Dumbledore's socks and found the vial. He carefully placed it into his pocket and stood up, taking one last glance at him. Then he slipped out and headed back toward the others. Perhaps he wouldn't have to surrender to Voldemort after all. If he found all of the Horcruxes in the fortress, or at least one or two then Voldemort would figure out they were missing and want to track them down at all costs. And thanks to Dumbledore's hint at the end, he knew exactly how to free the prisoners. As he headed back toward Mr. Weasley, he saw that most of the prisoners had eaten his food and were whispering amongst themselves. Mr. Weasley must have gotten the word around that they were going to escape.

"Harry?" Mr. Weasley glanced up, sounding a bit better after eating.

"There's been a change of plans. I'm going to steal Voldemort's snake to get you all out of here. We'll sneak out the back of this dungeon, once I try and find something. Tell everyone I'll be back in no more than an hour to set them free."

"Be careful," he said, as Harry disappeared once more back the way he came.

The Death Eater guarding the doorway was still there, standing in the same position. It wasn't too difficult to slip past him and head back up the stairs. This time, he felt his way up instead of using a light but he made sure to hold on to the rail. He had no idea where Voldemort could be hiding his Horcruxes. From what Dumbledore had written though, it seemed he hinted that Voldemort kept at least one close by to him. There was a chance he had a private room where he stored important items. There were Death Eaters still wandering around upstairs, but thankfully none of them seemed to be heading toward the dungeons. Snape had probably been in the dungeons because he had heard the rumor that Harry Potter might be in the fortress. Obviously, Voldemort had him check the dungeons knowing Harry might want to set some friends free. However, Snape hadn't found anything unusual so hopefully the dungeons wouldn't be checked for at least a half hour. And since most of the prisoners had been fed by now, they were a tad farther from death.

Harry's instincts told him Voldemort probably kept some rooms up higher. And since he wasn't sure how large the fortress was, he'd just have to climb each floor and explore. He wished there was an easier way to find it. Suddenly, he froze, up against the wall. His scar could sense Voldemort's presence when he was near him. Perhaps there was a spell he could use to amplify the sense so that he could just pass by rooms. That way it'd be faster and hopefully his scar would be able to sense which room Voldemort had been in. Thinking hard, he remembered a spell to amplify voice and hearing so he hoped it would amplify a sixth sense. Muttering the spell as he pointed his wand at his scar, he felt the zap and blinked several times. Nothing appeared to have happened, but he'd just have to wait and see.

He went down the hall that he assumed Bella and the others had gone down a while ago. He was starting to get nervous since he hadn't gotten a sign that his friends had reached the muggle world. What if the commotion had been about them finding his friends? What if they were being tortured right now by Voldemort? He squeezed his eyes shut to get the bad feeling away and hurried down the hall. He came to a room where several Death Eaters were conversing and saw a flight of stairs leading upward just nearby. Slipping around the couch and other pieces of furniture, he headed toward it.

"…no luck," one of the Death Eaters finished bitterly.

"Everyone was hoping the Potter boy would get caught."

"Yeah…master seemed sure he was around here," the other replied.

"Bella thinks she knows where the boy is though. She's already gone and headed toward that _special_ place."

"She just wants to get on master's good side since he's been in a bad mood. She's always trying to suck up to him and look better than the rest of us," the other replied angrily.

Harry ignored the rest of their conversation as he headed quietly up the stairs. He didn't meet any Death Eaters on the way up, however, there were quite a few of them walking around the second level. He felt his skin tingle and immediately froze, realizing he was in the light and there was no doubt at least one of them would catch him. Being as swift as possible, he opened the nearest door quietly and slipped inside. There, he breathed a sigh of relief and looked behind him to make sure no one was lurking about.

He rested for a minute and re-did his invisibility charm. He opened the door a crack and heard a hiss nearby. Harry's head swiveled around and he froze as he saw the huge snake uncoiling from the chair she had been resting in. Carefully, Harry let go of the door and backed away as quickly as possible. She saw the cracked door and slithered around it, sniffing it. He froze when she hissed loudly and turned her head back inside the room.

_She can smell me! She's going to find me if I don't do something!_

She began hissing as she approached closer, sniffing him out and Harry reacted quickly. He ducked behind one of the chairs and glanced at the non-lit candle holder. Pointing his wand at it, he transfigured it into a rat. Nagini peered her head around the chair even as Harry scooted back. She hissed loudly with fangs posed and began slithering closer. Harry was certain she would bite him, even though she couldn't see him, but her eyes caught sight of the rat. Immediately she pounced on it, forcing her fangs into it. It squeaked loudly and Harry reacted quickly and stunned her. The snake fell over with a loud thump. He heard footsteps approaching and quickly he shrank Nagini down to a pocket-sized snake. He took off one of his socks and put her in, then slipped the sock into his pocket. Harry caught sight of another door in the room and hurried toward it, just as the other door was opening.

The other room was a lot smaller but it only had one other way out and that was into the hallway. Quietly, Harry crept toward the door and listened for voices. He cracked the door open and peered out. He was thankful when he saw it was clear. Hurrying down the hallway, he stopped short when he saw Bella stalking down the hallway. She was cursing and looked very angry. In shock, Harry pushed his self against the wall and felt it give way. He fell backward through the secret door and landed on cement. Holding his breath, he waited until she had stomped past the wall before he scrambled up and ran down the passage. At the end of it, there was a flight of stairs again and it led him into a rugged hallway through a painting. He crept out and saw that there was no where to go down the hallways. There was no staircase or anything, just walls at either end, and just one door. It seemed the only way to get there was through the passage he had accidentally discovered.

He approached the door and suddenly felt his scar throb. He turned the knob and discovered it was locked. Not only that, but his hand print was left on the door, glowing. He cursed silently; there was obviously some charm on it. Voldemort would know he had gotten into the room, but hopefully he'd be out of the fortress by then. He tried "alohomora" but it did nothing. Feeling desperate, he searched around for a secret entrance of some sort. He knew Voldemort never made it easy, especially if he wanted to keep his Death Eaters out. Harry heard a hiss in his pocket and pointed his wand in again to stun the shrunken Nagini. He noticed she had tried to burn her way out of the sock, but thankfully she hadn't gotten out. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He stared at the door and hissed in parseltongue: "_open"._

A wall right by the door swung open and Harry wasted no time in jumping through. His eyes widened in awe when he took in the room. It was like a large study, with shelves of books and tables and couches and even a fireplace. It reminded him of the Gryffindor common room, only it was much creepier. The fireplace was on, which meant Voldemort might have been there at one point. His scar was throbbing, but it wasn't burning too painfully. If it was clouding him in pain, then he'd know that Voldemort was in the room. He started with the bureau and searched through it, looking for something that might resemble what Dumbledore had written out. There was nothing that he could find useful. And the room was so large it'd take him a long time to look through the shelves and any crevices.

Harry sighed heavily, feeling frustrated and panicked. There was no telling if Voldemort would come back to the room soon or not. His eyes gazed over at the fireplace and he felt his throat constrict. There, atop the mantel, was the head of a snake sticking out. It was attacked to the mantel and at a distance appeared stuck against the wall. As he approached it, however, he could tell it was sticking out away from the wall. Harry looked around the room and grabbed one of the chairs from the table. He stood on it as he stared at the snake head. Licking his lips uncertainly, even as his adrenaline was pumping, he whispered in Parseltongue once more.

The snake's empty eye sockets glowed in response and its mouth dropped open. Harry reached two fingers inside and grasped something. Slowly, he pulled it out and saw that it was a ring. It was silver with bits of what looked like rubies. The ruby formed an R surrounded by the shape of a crest, almost like the Hogwarts' crest. Harry's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. Was this the family crest Dumbledore had mentioned? The R could stand for Riddle and it was definitely tucked safely away. To keep it safe, Harry slipped it on his finger. He had found one! Unfortunately, with his hand print on the door he didn't have time to stick around and see if there was another one. He'd have to free the prisoners and then escape with them quickly.

He jumped off the chair and ran back toward the wall and hissed in Parseltongue. It opened and Harry stepped out, thankful when he didn't see signs of Voldemort or Death Eaters. He pushed back through the passage and ran down the stairs. He had to be careful when he approached the wall and listened for footsteps. When he heard none, he opened it up and jumped out just as a Death Eater was turning the corner. He hurried past the Death Eater, pushing up against the wall and made it to the stairs. Careful not to run down them and make noise, he walked down them. Unfortunately, when he reached the hallway he heard voices outside. Swallowing, he re-did the invisibility charm just in case, stunned Nagini again and slipped out into the open. Several Death Eaters were arguing in the hallway and were blocking him from where he needed to go.

"This is impossible!" one of them shouted.

"I haven't found a thing!" another retorted.

"Maybe you didn't look hard enough!"

"Stop fighting! Master will kill us if we don't find some trace of the boy!"

Harry held his breath as he came closer. Suddenly, a Death Eater ran into the hallway from where he came from.

"I've found something!" he shouted, as all eyes turned on him. "Spread the word! Someone has used the secret passage in the wall! Master must know!"

All at once the Death Eaters broke out in cheers and began splitting up. Harry's heart pounded in his chest as some ran right past him. He hurried down the hall, still pressed up against the wall as he headed back toward the dungeons. He placed himself in front of the wall to tap it when it suddenly shot open. Harry just managed to jump aside as a Death Eater came running out. It was then Harry realized that the Dark Mark had been produced on the ceiling of the hallway he had come from and probably every Death Eater had felt the burn of their marks in warning. He had no time now. Quickly, without waiting, he jumped through the wall before it closed and ran down the steps. His luck increased when he saw the Death Eater normally guarding wasn't there. They must've thought he couldn't get into the dungeons because of the secret code and now they thought he was up on the second floor. He had to hurry before Voldemort found out his ring was missing.

He ran into the dungeons and threw off his invisibility. "Mr. Weasley! We have to move _now_!"

Mr. Weasley glanced up in shock and all at once the prisoners were throwing themselves at the bars. Harry easily cast "alohomora" on Mr. Weasley's cell and helped him up.

"You free the prisoners! I have to get Nagini's venom and start making a hole!"

Harry handed him his wand and Mr. Weasley nodded immediately. He ran toward one of the back walls, right by Dumbledore's cell and took out his sock. Nagini fell out into his hands, shrunken and Harry enlarged her enough to see her fangs. He stunned her once more for safety and transfigured his other sock into a vial. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to milk a snake.

"Mr. Weasley!" Harry called.

A moment later, Mr. Weasley ran inside, huffing and puffing. "I've freed…most of the prisoners. Molly's helping."

"I don't know how to milk a snake! Her venom can melt steel!"

"I know someone who knows," he said quickly, hurrying into the other room.

Harry felt incredibly pressed for time and was relieved when he came back with a young woman, all dirty and tired.

"You have to milk her! Her venom can break through this wall!"

She nodded instantly and despite her weakened state, grabbed hold on Nagini's head and began filling the vial.  
"Mr. Weasley, make sure to keep the snake stunned and do this as fast as possible!"

"What about our wands?" Mr. Weasley asked nervously.

Harry almost cursed aloud. "Where are they?"

"Somewhere down here. I think they kept them up high in a concealed chamber in the other room."

Harry nodded and grabbed his wand from Mr. Weasley. He ran into the other room and searched as quickly as possible. His eyes caught sight of something attached to the ceiling. He muttered "wingardium leviosa" and flew up toward it. It was sealed shut with all sorts of charms and Harry was panicking once more.

"Harry!" Mr. Weasley shouted, running over and staring up at him. "The snake is waking up!"

Angrily, Harry did the only thing he could and shouted: "Incendio!"

The chamber burst into flames and Harry waited until it stopped before retrieving all the wands he could carry. Some of them he threw down to Mr. Weasley.

"Someone's coming!" a witch shouted.

Harry came back down and nodded. "That noise probably alerted them! Hurry! Everyone into the next room!"

All the prisoners who were alive ran into the next room and Mr. Weasley took his own wand to help with the snake while the wands were passed around. Harry realized he'd have to block the Death Eaters from entering. He came into the room to see that the hole wasn't big enough yet.

"Please, hurry!" he shouted desperately.

The woman milked Nagini as fast as possible and Harry ran back toward the room. He heard shouts coming from atop the stairs and hurried toward the doorway. With his wand, he sealed it up with cement, but he knew that wouldn't hold them for long. A few minutes later, banging came on the door and he heard voices of shock and fury. Harry ran back into the other room. Nagini's venom was the only thing strong enough to break through the magical barrier.

"I've got an idea!" Harry shouted even as Molly embraced him tightly.

He pointed his wand at Nagini and cloned her several times. At once people began helping to milk her and more venom was beginning to be produced. Harry heard curses being fired at the cement wall and helped them as they threw venom from vials. The wall began melting much quicker but it wasn't enough.

"It's not working!" one shouted.

"We'll be killed for sure!" another one cried.

Harry glanced at the worried Mr. And Mrs. Weasley and felt anger course through him. "I've got an idea! If we all work together with our wands we can probably enlarge the hole, now that the magical barrier has been weakened!"

Immediately, wands were shakily pointed toward the hole. "Incendio!" Harry boomed.

The others followed suit and soon the hole caught on fire. The wall began exploding and Harry knew they would be caught soon. He threw off his shirt and tossed it to Mr. Weasley, who looked surprised.

"When everyone runs out of here, you have to make the port key immediately! And make sure everyone holds onto one another!"

"What about you?" Molly exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I'll find my own way; I have to distract the Death Eaters for you all to make it!"

"It's big enough!" one shouted, as people began flinging themselves toward it.

Mr. And Mrs. Weasley nodded and Harry pushed them away as the prisoners began escaping. He heard the Death Eater's shouts and knew they had broken through. Molly hesitated but Harry pushed her toward the hole and began helping to fling everyone out. Mr. Weasley grabbed hold of his arm, but Harry forced him out. He was the last one and Harry immediately sealed the hole back up. A sharp hissing sound came and Harry saw Nagini was awake and angry. The clones had vanished already and she was rapidly approaching. Harry lifted his wands and concentrated on nothing except believing in his power. He had to do it…even though he promised he'd never utter those words.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry hissed.

The snake hissed as a spark flew at her, but continued toward him. Closing his eyes for a second, he remembered what Bella had told him fifth year about how to properly perform an unforgivable. Nagini lashed out toward him and Harry shouted:

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

A surge of power erupted from his wand and Harry nearly fell over. His eyes were widened in shock as a jet of green light headed straight for her. The snake let out a loud cry and suddenly burst into green flames. Harry jumped back as an explosion came after. Blood and venom was thrown everywhere and a black cloud of smoke enveloped the room.

_I used the killing curse…I killed something. _

He couldn't breathe at first and struggled to pull himself toward Dumbledore's cell. He slipped inside and remained invisible as he hid behind Dumbledore's body. Seconds later he saw wands spraying the room to clear the mist. About ten Death Eaters appeared there and many of them were cursing and looking around wildly.

"What happened?"

"The prisoners all escaped!" another exclaimed.

"How? Where did they go?"

"Look!" Dolohov pointed to Nagini's body. "That's master's snake!"

"He's going to be so furious!" another snapped fearfully.

"Someone report this to master immediately!"

He watched as the Death Eaters began dispersing and held his breath when he saw familiar faces such as Snape's, who stared down at the snake in shock. Bella ran in and nearly bumped into him.

"What's going on Severus? What is this? Why are all the prisoners gone?" she screamed.

"Someone's set them all free!" Snape replied bitterly.

"It was Potter!" she snarled viciously. "He did this! We have to find him!"

"It's too late!" Snape snapped. "He's probably escaped with the prisoners!"

"We have to go search for them! They couldn't have gone far!" Bella shrieked.

Then suddenly she cried out in pain and glanced down at her arm. She stared up at Snape in fear and he scowled.

"Master wants a meeting with us all. This can't be good."

Bella stormed off with Snape behind her. Harry got up and without thinking began to follow them. He needed to know what Voldemort was planning and the best way was to listen in on the meeting. As he followed a distance behind, he prayed that the prisoners had made it safely to the muggle world and that his friends had too. For the time being, his only plan was to destroy the Horcruxes or at least get them safely away from Voldemort. He wasn't sure if what he saw in the veil meant that he was in fact one of them. Perhaps that's what Dumbledore meant when he said the fourth and last one he couldn't find. Maybe Dumbledore hadn't known that secret. If he was a Horcrux…he'd have to be destroyed. Hopefully, he would be able to escape temporarily to join the others in the muggle world and not be caught by Voldemort or his Death Eaters. He knew if he was caught, there was no telling what Voldemort would want to do with him once he found out one of his Horcruxes was missing.

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

**Okay, so there's going to be one more chapter. This was getting too long already and I have a lot more to write. I hope to update this shortly and not make you guys wait too long. Thanks!**

**Padfoot13**: Thanks for continuing to review! I know it felt like I gave up on this story. But I haven't! There's one more chapter left now so it should be finished shortly. I will be updating Interference and Metamorphosis over the next couple weeks. Thanks!


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